The Malian government has restarted production at the Loulo-Gounkoto gold mining complex this week, four months after a court granted control of the mine to a state-appointed provincial administration following the withdrawal of Canadian mining giant Barrick Gold.
Local media report that the mine, one of Africa’s largest and among the top ten globally, is now operating at roughly 50% capacity. Although Barrick still technically holds an 80% stake, with the Malian state owning 20%, the move effectively marks the de facto nationalization of the site.
The Loulo-Gounkoto dispute traces back to early 2023, when tensions escalated over unpaid taxes and control of export revenues. After a shipment of gold was seized by Malian authorities in January, Barrick suspended all operations. Bamako subsequently petitioned a local court to appoint an interim administrator for the mine. In June, the court approved the request, naming former Health Minister Soumana Makadji to oversee operations under state supervision.
Since then, an estimated three tons of gold have been extracted and transferred under government control, signaling that Barrick may have lost its practical grip on the asset despite ongoing arbitration. The company has reportedly sought to offload its stake and has stopped including Loulo-Gounkoto in its profit outlooks.
Mali’s military-led government, which took power in a 2021 coup, has pushed aggressively to reclaim control of its natural resources, mirroring similar nationalization trends in neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger. These moves have heightened tensions with Western powers and multinational corporations that dominated the region’s mining sector for decades.
The shift has coincided with intensified fighting between Malian forces and Al-Qaeda-linked insurgents across the north and center of the country, alongside an expanding Russian presence supporting Bamako. Western intelligence sources have also suggested limited Ukrainian involvement on the side of the jihadist factions—an indication of the increasingly complex proxy dynamics in Mali’s evolving conflict.