(Ecofin Agency) – Arrests of managers, withdrawal of mining permits, blocking of gold and uranium exports are the measures taken in recent months by Mali and Niger against several foreign companies. After unsuccessful negotiations, the latter are now announcing legal measures.
Barrick Gold reiterated, Monday January 6, its intention to suspend production at its Loulo-Gounkoto gold mine in Mali, in the face of a government ban which prevents it from exporting gold. The world’s second largest gold producer is not the only one to consider various responses to the pressure put in recent months by Mali and Niger on foreign mining companies.
Already in December 2024, Orano announced that it would engage in international arbitration against Niger, a few months after the government withdrew the operating permit for the Imouraren uranium project. The French group specified that this measure came after “ several months of unsuccessful mediation and conciliation attempts ».
Like Orano, Barrick announced in December that it had submitted a request for international arbitration, after the blocking of its exports and the arrest of several employees by Bamako. It was GoviEx Uranium which opened the ball in the response that mining companies who feel wronged by the actions of the military regimes in the Sahel are currently trying to provide. The Canadian company announced at the beginning of December the opening of an arbitration procedure, after having lost the Madaouela uranium project in Niger a few months earlier.
With these various procedures, these companies seek above all to send messages of assurance to their investors and partners, estimates Hamidou Dramé, lawyer specializing in mining law. “ These procedures also make it possible to initiate a legal ‘reply’ without closing the doors to possible negotiations for an amicable settlement of the dispute. », Analyzes the partner of the Guinean firm Guilex Avocats.
The origins of the disputes…
The claims of the two Sahel States towards these foreign companies are different. In Niger, Me Dramé explains that it was the violation of obligations relating to the mine development deadline that pushed the government to withdraw the operating permits from Orano and GoviEx. Article 39 of the Nigerien mining code indicates that the holder of a permit for large-scale exploitation “ is required to begin development and exploitation work on the deposit within two years ».
However, GoviEx Uranium obtained its operating permit in Madaouela in 2016, where Orano has had the rights to exploit the Imouraren deposit since 2009. While the situation on the global uranium market (low prices and demand ) did not allow these companies to exploit the deposits, they have specified in recent months that they have submitted updated plans aimed at launching “as quickly as possible” the development of their projects, in a context of renewed interest in nuclear energy in the world, and therefore in uranium.
In Mali, on the other hand, the pressure put on Barrick does not concern the development of a mine, but unpaid royalties and taxes. Bamako launched an audit of gold mines, which revealed a shortfall of 300 to 600 billion FCFA for the State in 2023. While most companies operating in Mali have already signed agreements to end the prosecution, Barrick has so far not found common ground with the authorities.
What are the outcomes of the crisis?
It is difficult to predict the outcome of the ongoing conflict between Sahel states and foreign mining companies, even on a legal level. According to Hamidou Dramé, arbitration procedures in the context of such large investments take time. “ After the official notification of the requests to the States, it will then be necessary to constitute the arbitral tribunals and manage the procedure which includes several other stages which may concern the contestation of the jurisdiction of the courts, the payment of arbitration costs and the production of evidence, etc. . “, he explains.
These legal procedures may also not come to fruition, as settlement agreements remain possible. In this case, the mining law specialist believes that the companies could pay compensation to the States to close the disputes. This is an option that is not ruled out by the companies, who all say they are open to negotiations.
Despite everything, the current difficulties of these companies have concrete consequences for local communities, who are seeing jobs or job prospects and community development projects disappear. “The inability to ship gold not only affects operations, but has broader implications for the local economy, the 8,000 employees and the many local service providers and suppliers», Recalls Barrick, which operates the largest gold mine in Mali.
Emiliano Tossou
Also read:
06/12/2024 – Mali threatens the gold giants: just cause, but questionable method
10/12/2024 – After its ouster from Nigerien uranium, GoviEx has not said its last word
04/19/2024 – Niger: the government plans to withdraw a uranium mining permit held by the Canadian GoviEx
