Key Points
- Mali issues arrest warrant for Barrick Gold CEO Mark Bristow.
- Four Barrick employees detained amid tax dispute with Mali.
- International mining companies face growing pressure in Mali.
A dispute with Barrick Gold has escalated after Mali, one of Africa’s biggest gold producers, filed an arrest order for Mark Bristow, the CEO of the Canadian mining corporation, according to a warrant document obtained by Reuters on Thursday.
Mali seeks arrest of Barrick Gold CEO Mark Bristow
As gold prices rise, the West African nation’s junta-led government is looking to increase mining revenue to support state finances. To exert pressure on foreign businesses doing business in the nation, the government has arrested mining executives.
In September, the authorities requested approximately $500 million in unpaid taxes, which led to the temporary detention of four senior Barrick personnel. They are awaiting trial after being arrested once again last month.
The second-largest gold miner in the world, Barrick, was certain it could settle the conflict with regulators by the end of the year, Bristow told Reuters in early November.
Bristow is charged with money laundering and financial regulation violations in the arrest warrant, which was issued on December 4.
Its validity was confirmed by two people with knowledge of the situation who asked not to be named. When contacted by Reuters, Barrick refused to comment on the arrest warrant. Barrick’s stock dropped 2.9% on the Toronto Stock Exchange after the news.
According to the firm website, Bristow, a South African who splits his time between the United States and the United Kingdom, last travelled to Mali in July. The headquarters of Barrick are located in Toronto.
Additionally, the document revealed that Cheick Abass Coulibaly, general manager of Barrick’s Loulo-Gounkoto mining complex in Mali, had an arrest order issued by Mali.
In a different example, Resolute Mining of Australia said that last month, Mali’s military-led authorities detained its British CEO and two other staff members due to a tax dispute. Following the company’s agreement to pay $160 million, they were released.
Rising tensions between Mali and international mining companies
The difficulties experienced by multinational mining corporations in Mali, which, like neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger, has put more pressure on foreign companies, are highlighted by these arrests and warrants. Ibrahim Traore, the leader of the Burkina Faso junta, declared in October that he intended to increase domestic gold production and revoke mining permits from certain multinational firms.
Orano, a French nuclear fuel business, said on Wednesday that Niger has taken over its Somair uranium mine.
In order to support their military regimes, the three nations have turned to Russia for security assistance, separating themselves from longstanding friends like the United States and former colonial power France.
