Mali has arrested four Malian employees of Canadian mining company Barrick Gold, the firm said in the latest detention of a foreign mining company’s employees by the ruling junta.
The four employees were charged and detained pending trial, Barrick Gold said in a statement, adding that it disputed the charges, without giving details, AFP reported.
Since coming to power in a 2020 coup, the junta has promised a fairer distribution of revenue from the foreign-dominated mining industry in Mali.
In recent months foreign miners have come under pressure from the military authorities, which have sought to increase their control of the lucrative mineral sector.
‘Failure to honour commitments’
Together with the Malian state Barrick Gold owns one of the world’s largest gold mining complexes, the open-pit Loulo-Gounkoto site in the country’s west.
The arrests follow the detention of another four Barrick Gold employees in September for undisclosed reasons.
After their release several days later Barrick Gold indicated it had found a solution to its disputes with the Malian state.
However the mining ministry subsequently accused the Canadian firm of failing to honour its commitments.
In Tuesday’s statement, Barrick Gold said it remained “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.”
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