Barrick to Pay Mali $430 Million to Settle Gold Mine Dispute

Barrick Mining Corp. has agreed to a 244 billion CFA francs ($430 million) settlement with Mali, as part of a deal to end a two-year dispute that shuttered one of the company’s most important gold operations, according to people familiar with the matter.

Under the settlement, Barrick is due to pay 144 billion CFA francs within six days of signing the agreement with Mali’s government, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. Another 50 billion CFA francs will come via VAT-credit offsets, while an installment of the same size was already paid last year, the people said.

The Canadian company will regain operational control over the Loulo-Gounkoto complex and withdraw its arbitration claims against the West African country, Barrick said in a Monday statement. Mali, in turn, will drop its charges against Barrick and take legal steps to release four employees jailed during the dispute with the government.

Barrick declined to comment further on the agreement, or whether it included a settlement.

The company will also accept Mali’s 2023 mining code, while the permit for the Loulo gold mine, which was set to expire in February, will be renewed for another decade. The deal also ends state control of the mine, paving the way for Barrick to resume operations, Mali’s government said late on Monday.

A mining ministry spokesman said he wasn’t aware if any settlement was being paid.

If restarted swiftly, the mine could produce about 670,000 ounces next year, generating $1.5 billion in operating cash flow, BMO Capital Markets analysts said in an emailed note on Tuesday.

Barrick shares jumped 8.5% to a 13-year high on Monday, after an agreement that ends a dispute that began when the company resisted Mali’s 2023 mining code, which increased royalties and state stakes. In response, Mali demanded back taxes, detained the company’s staff, issued an arrest warrant for former Chief Executive Officer Mark Bristow and took over the company’s mines.

Mali expects to receive about 90 billion CFA francs in dividends annually, plus royalties and stakes as per the 2023 code under the new agreement with Barrick, Finance Minister Alousséni Sanou said in a late Monday interview with Mali’s public broadcaster ORTM.