Mali judge rejects Barrick appeal to free detained employees

A court in Mali has rejected Barrick Mining’s (TSX: ABX)(NYSE: B) appeal to release four employees arrested in November, deepening a high-stakes standoff between the Canadian mining giant and the country’s military-led government.

Judge Samba Sarr ruled the appeal “unfounded” according to Barrick, which has repeatedly dismissed the charges as politically motivated and legally baseless. The employees, local staff working at Barrick’s Loulo-Gounkoto gold mine, remain in pre-trial detention in Bamako. They face allegations including money laundering and regulatory violations, Alifa Habib Kone, a lawyer for Barrick, told Reuters on Tuesday.

Chief executive officer Mark Bristow is also facing an arrest warrant issued by Malian authorities in December. He is accused of similar offences.

Bristow and the company have rejected all allegations, calling them without merit.

The court’s decision marks the latest escalation in a standoff between Barrick and Mali’s military-led government, which seized power in a 2021 coup — Colonel Assimi Goïta’s second in under a year. 

Relations have deteriorated sharply over disputes involving taxes, gold export rights, and the ownership structure of the Loulo-Gounkoto complex. Barrick holds an 80% stake in the operation, while the Malian state owns the remaining 20%.

Operations at the site have been suspended since January after the government blocked gold export permits and seized more than three tonnes of the metal. On July 10, Malian helicopters reportedly landed at Loulo-Gounkoto without notice and removed an additional tonne of gold, worth $117 million at current prices.

Mali accounts for roughly 14% of Barrick’s global gold production. In the first nine months of last year, the company generated $949 million in revenue from its operations in the country.

MINING.COM reached out to Barrick for comment on the court ruling, but the company had not responded by the time this story was published.