Mali Extends Barrick's Gold Mining License by 10 Years

 The Malian government has approved a 10-year extension of Canadian company Barrick Gold's license to mine gold at the Loulo-Gounkoto complex. This was reported by Malijet, citing a statement from the country's Minister of Mines, Amadou Keita.

As part of the license renewal, the company confirmed the presence of profitable reserves—sufficient for six years of open-pit mining and 16 years of underground mining. Annual production volume is estimated at 420,000 ounces of gold.

The decision follows the conclusion of two years of negotiations between the authorities and the Canadian company.

In January, Mali's Ministry of Mines reported that the country's industrial gold production in 2025 fell by 22.9%, from 54.8 tons to 42.2 tons.

Since 2023, Barrick had been in conflict with the Malian government over its contract in light of new mining regulations in the Sahelian nation. These rules stipulate that the state's share of mining profits must increase. The conflict escalated on several occasions: Mali detained senior executives of the Canadian company and issued an arrest warrant for Barrick's former CEO, Mark Bristow.

In November of last year, the parties settled the dispute and signed an agreement. The deal provided for the dropping of all charges against the company, its subsidiaries, and employees, as well as the initiation of legal procedures to release four detained staff members. The Malian authorities also agreed to terminate the temporary external administration of the complex, after which Barrick would regain full operational control.

In exchange, Barrick's subsidiaries withdrew lawsuits filed against the Malian authorities at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). The 10-year license extension represents the final step in normalizing the company's operational status in the country.