Malian Court Upheld Detention of Four Barrick Employees

The ruling by Judge Samba Sarr yesterday stated that the appeal filed by the company was unfounded.

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): A Bloomberg story claims that a Malian court has maintained the imprisonment of four Barrick Mining employees. According to Judge Samba Sarr's decision from yesterday, the company's appeal was baseless. Barrick, meantime, has denied the accusations made against its staff.

Since November 2023, the company's personnel have been detained pending trial on allegations of financial malfeasance and money laundering. It should be mentioned that the Malian government and the Canadian mining company have been at odds over matters like taxes and mine ownership in the nation.

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Since 2023, the firm and the Malian government have been negotiating the implementation of a new mining code that calls for more taxes and a larger government stake in the nation's gold mines.

Barrick owns 80% of the Loulo-Gounkoto mining complex in Mali, with the government owning the other 20%. Due to the government authorities' seizure of gold stocks and embargo on gold exports, mine operations have been ceased since mid-January of this year.

The four employees were arrested in November 2023. It should be mentioned that Barrick CEO Mark Bristow was the subject of an arrest warrant alleging financial regulation violations and money laundering.

Nearly 14% of Barrick's gold production comes from Mali.