World's second-largest gold miner threatens to halt operations in Mali

Canadian Barrick Gold said on Monday it would suspend operations in Mali if the country does not lift restrictions on gold shipments within the next week, with the mining group facing orders amounting to seizure, Reuters reported.

Barrick Gold’s standoff in Mali and threats by Burkina Faso’s military junta to withdraw mining permits and seize a French-run uranium site in Niger have rattled Western mining companies and could limit further investment in West Africa, industry sources told Reuters.

Barrick Gold, whose Loulo-Gounkoto mining complex in Mali accounts for about 14% of its estimated 2025 gold production, has been in dispute with the country’s government over a contract based on new mining rules since 2023 and last month issued an arrest warrant for its chief executive, Mark Bristow.

Mali is Africa’s second-largest gold producer in 2023 and the world’s 11th-largest, the World Gold Council said, and Barrick Gold is the world’s second-largest gold miner.

The company said if its inability to ship gold is not resolved within the next week, it will have no choice but to temporarily suspend operations at Loulo-Gounkoto.

A company employee in Mali told Reuters that management at the mine had been told to prepare to stop work, and another source told Reuters that mine employees had been told the same.

Barrick Gold owns 80% of Loulo-Gounkoto, while Mali owns 20%.