Canadian Mining Executive Joins Malian Government Amid Barrick Dispute

By Staff, Agencies

A senior executive who previously represented Canadian mining giant Barrick in negotiations with Mali has switched sides to advise the West African nation’s leader, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing a Mines Ministry official.

Hilaire Diarra, formerly general manager of Barrick’s Tongon Gold Mine in Ivory Coast, was appointed special counsellor to Malian President Assimi Goita in a decree signed in late August.

The authenticity of the decree was confirmed by an unnamed Malian Mines Ministry official. Diarra and a Barrick spokesperson did not immediately comment.

Tensions between Bamako and Barrick, one of the world’s largest gold producers, have escalated over alleged unpaid taxes and royalties.

Negotiations on a new mining code granting Mali greater control over its mineral wealth collapsed after authorities demanded a lump-sum payment of 125 billion CFA francs [$197 million], while Barrick proposed a structured payment plan.

Relations worsened following the November arrest of four local Barrick executives on charges of money laundering and financing terrorism; a Malian court has since denied their release.

Barrick has taken Mali to the World Bank’s arbitration tribunal, contesting the government’s seizure of gold stocks and the export ban.

The company also requested provisional measures to protect its contractual rights after the Commercial Tribunal stripped it of control over the Loulo-Gounkoto complex, placing it under temporary government administration.

Diarra, a Malian national who started his career at the Loulo mine, traveled to Bamako this year to negotiate on Barrick’s behalf.

Other Western firms in the Sahel are facing similar pressure: in Niger, French state-owned Orano lost control of uranium mines for “irresponsible, illegal, and unfair behavior,” while Australian-owned McKinel Resources saw its only industrial gold mine nationalized over “grave contractual breaches”.