Barrick to appeal Loulo-Gounkoto administrator appointment

Barrick Mining (TSX: ABX; NYSE: B) will appeal a Malian court decision appointing Soumana Makadji, a former health minister, as the provisional administrator of its Loulo-Gounkoto operation for six months.

“We take note of the decision, the appointment of an administrator whom we know well. It is a court decision. We will appeal,” West Africa director Mamadou Samaké told Reuters.

Since January, Loulo-Gounkoto, one of Africa’s largest gold complexes, has sat idle amid a standoff triggered by Mali’s 2023 mining code, which raised tax rates and expanded state equity participation.

In November 2024, Malian authorities blocked Barrick’s gold exports and seized about three tonnes of gold, alleging unpaid taxes.

The dispute deepened when an arrest warrant was issued for CEO Mark Bristow on money-laundering and terrorism-financing charges, claims Barrick rejects.

Longer path to restart

In a press release Monday, the Canadian miner condemned the Malian government’s actions that led to the mine suspension.

“While the company has made a number of good faith concessions in the spirit of partnership, it cannot accept terms that would compromise the legal integrity or long-term viability of the operations,” the company stated.

BMO Capital Markets, in a note published Monday, said it views Loulo-Gounkoto being placed under administrator control as an “incremental negative.”

“We push out the mine restart to 2026 and raise our asset discount rate to 12%. We continue to see a negotiated resolution as the logical outcome. However, we acknowledge the path back to production has lengthened and the risk of total asset loss has increased,” BMO analysts wrote.

Barrick’s US-listed shares dipped 0.4% on Monday, giving the company a market capitalization of roughly $37 billion.

Financial impact

With the mine offline, Barrick is incurring roughly $15 million per month in maintenance and staffing costs, while forfeiting an estimated $1.24 billion in annual revenue.

Due to the mine’s uncertain status, the company last week excluded Loulo-Gounkoto from its production forecasts through at least 2028.

To prevent further escalation, Barrick has also asked the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes at the World Bank for provisional measures to pause Mali’s administrative takeover.

In its statement on Monday, the company confirmed that a separate arbitration case is now “fully underway” with the tribunal. In its argument, Barrick claimed that Mali’s “unilateral actions” breached existing contracts and undermined principles of due process.