A court in Mali is set to rule on Thursday whether to place the Loulo-Gounkoto gold mine—operated by Canadian mining company Barrick Gold—under provincial administration controlled by the government.
Last week, the Malian government, which holds a 20% stake in the mine, filed a request with the Tribunal de Commerce in Bamako to transfer the mine to a new authority in order to restart operations.
Barrick owns the remaining 80% in the mining complex.
On April 17, the government sent Barrick a letter demanding that the company resume mining operations by April 20 or face nationalization.
If the court rules in favor of the government, a new management team appointed by Mali’s military-led administration in Bamako would take over operations. The move could eventually lead to the full nationalization of Barrick’s assets in the country.
Tensions between Barrick and the Malian government have escalated since 2023, as authorities in Bamako seek greater control over the nation’s mineral resources and a larger share of profits. That year, Mali amended its mining laws to increase government ownership and raise taxes on foreign companies operating in the country.
In January, the Loulo-Gounkoto mine—the largest gold mine in Mali and the second-largest gold mine in Barrick’s global portfolio—ceased operations after the government seized three tons of gold, claiming Barrick had failed to pay taxes.
Although negotiations between Barrick and the government have been ongoing since January, the situation deteriorated further in April when Malian authorities shut down the company’s offices and reiterated threats of nationalization if operations were not resumed.
In response, Barrick began laying off its staff in Mali, indicating that it had no intention of restarting operations at the Loulo-Gounkoto mine and had little hope of resolving the dispute through ongoing arbitration.
The situation in Mali mirrors developments in neighboring Niger and Burkina Faso, where fellow military-led governments are similarly working to reclaim control over their substantial mineral resources and reduce Western influence. Together, the three countries—known collectively as the Alliance of Sahel States (AES)—are pursuing policies aimed at asserting national sovereignty over key economic sectors, particularly in mining.