Mali targets Barrick CEO for arrest as tax row escalates

Tensions between Mali and foreign miners ratcheted higher Thursday with the military backed government issuing an arrest warrant for Mark Bristow, the CEO of Barrick Gold (TSX: ABX; NYSE: GOLD).

The arrest warrant for money laundering—first reported by Malian media and picked up by Reuters—follows the detention in November of four Barrick employees at the company’s Loulo-Gounkoto mining complex in western Mali, one of the world’s largest gold mines.

Barrick declined to comment on the arrest warrant or whether Bristow was safely out of the country. It also refused to say whether its four Malian employees remain in detention pending trial.

Mali’s military rulers are seeking a greater distribution of revenue from the mining industry. Mali introduced a new mining code last year to increase the government’s stakes to 35% from 20% and abolished certain tax exemptions.

The national arrest warrant for Bristow follows the detention last month of Resolute Mining (ASX: RSG; LSE: RSG) CEO Terry Holohan and two other employees. They were released after 12 days when the company agreed to pay the government about US$160 million to settle a tax dispute.

Resolute owns the Syama mine in southwestern Mali, about 30 km from the border with Cote d’Ivoire and about 300 km southeast of the capital Bamako.

In October, Barrick paid US$85 million to the government amid ongoing negotiations, but denied allegations by the Malian Ministry of Mines and the Finance Ministry that it had not honored its commitments.

The Canadian miner said it has been trying since September to finalize a memorandum of agreement that would guide its partnership with the government, including the state’s share of the economic benefits generated by its mine.

“Our attempts to find a mutually acceptable resolution have so far been unsuccessful, but we remain committed to engage with the government in order to resolve all the claims levied against the company and its employees and secure the early release of our unjustly imprisoned colleagues,” Bristow said in a release on Nov. 26.

Resource nationalism at play

Mali, one of the world’s poorest countries, is among several nations pushing for a greater share of their mineral wealth in recent years.

Gold accounted for more than 80% of Mali’s exports last year, according to the U.S. Commerce Department’s International Trade Association. And record gold prices this year have only fuelled the resurgence in resource nationalism.

Theo Yameogo, head of EY’s metals and mining practice, declined to comment on the arrest warrant, but cited findings from the group’s 2025 Top 10 Risks and Opportunities report, in which resource nationalism tops the list.

“Resource nationalism is on the rise, impacting tax rules and ownership rights,” the report stated.

Over the past 29 years, Barrick has invested more than US$10 billion in the Malian economy, with its mines making up between 5% and 10% of the country’s gross domestic product annually.

The cash-strapped nation, which has been under military rule since a 2021 coup, has struggled to fight al-Qaeda and Islamic State-linked fighters, including Tuareg rebels in the north, and has hired Russian mercenaries for security and to fight militants.

The U.S. State Department issued a ‘do not travel’ advisory in July, due to violent crime, terrorism, and kidnapping concerns.

“Terrorist and armed groups continue plotting kidnappings and attacks in Mali,” the travel advisory read. “They may attack with little or no warning, targeting night clubs, hotels, restaurants, places of worship, international diplomatic missions and other locations frequented by foreigners.”

Other foreign mining companies operating in Mali include B2Gold (TSX: BTO; NYSE-AM: BTG); Roscan Gold (TSXV: ROS; US-OTC: RCGCF), Robex Resources (TSXV: RBX), and Hummingbird Resources (LSE: HUM)

Robex, which owns the Nampala mine, said in September that it had executed an agreement with Mali that resolves all tax and customs claims for any period prior to Dec. 31, 2023. In June the company announced plans to sell the mine to focus on its Kiniero gold project in Guinea.

“Due to the geopolitical context for investments in Mali, the market of potential buyers is currently very limited,” it noted in a release on Sept. 16.