Barrick’s Mali office reopens amid tax standoff

Malian tax officials have unlocked Barrick’s (NYSE: B; TSX: ABX) Bamako headquarters, nearly two months after sealing the doors over an alleged multi-million-dollar tax shortfall, Reuters reported on Monday.

The office will now be run by a court-appointed administrator while the Canadian miner and Mali’s junta government continue wrangling over the country’s 2023 mining code.

Former health minister Soumana Makadji was named provisional administrator of the complex last week.

Barrick says it will appeal both his appointment and the wider court order that put the flagship Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex under state control.

Barrick’s New York-listed shares rose 2% to $21.39 in early Monday trade, valuing the company at about $37 billion.

Mine still idle

Loulo-Gounkoto, once delivering more than half a million ounces of gold a year, has been offline since mid-January, after officials blocked exports and seized three tonnes of bullion.

Barrick argues Mali’s revised code, which raises taxes and boosts state equity, violates its existing agreements and is pursuing international arbitration.

Negotiations on a compromise have stalled for 18 months, leaving hundreds of local contractors in limbo and Mali without a key source of hard-currency royalties.

(With files from Reuters)