In the fiery depths of Mali, a treasure has just changed hands. Indeed, the Morila gold mine in Mali was let go by an Australian firm for the symbolic price of one dollar (610 CFA francs), our colleagues from the Ecofin Agency tell us.
Paradoxically, at the lower price of the operation, it is a sizeable transaction. And for good reason, for two decades, this belly of the earth has poured out more than 200 tonnes of gleaming gold, an invaluable windfall for Malian coffers.
All that, until the Outback firm, Firefinch, took it over with enormous ambitions.
Coveting this inexhaustible vein, the Australians dreamed of resuscitating the aging operator. But the failure was bitter.
Caught in the grip of its financial difficulties, Firefinch had to spit out the gold pearl to the government of the putschists for a simple symbolic donation.
A setback which is part of an otherwise vast clash with the Chinese colossus Ganfeng Lithium around the Goulamina lithium deposit.
In this heated battle for mining assets, the ruling junta has imposed its winning conditions.
With an iron fist, the military demanded and obtained $60 million in compensation from Ganfeng to buy peace.
Firefinch had to give in, abandoning its favorite gold mine to get out of the Goulamina impasse whose mining permits are contested.
At the end of this standoff, the Malian state strengthens its hold on national resources by doubling its stake in Goulamina to 30%.
Local investors will even grab 5% of the pie. A plan of patriotic affirmation somewhat tarnished by this unworthy 1 dollar transaction.
However, this humiliation could well be the price to pay to regain full sovereignty over the buried treasures of Malian soil.
The gold from the Morila mine will at least have made it possible to reaffirm the State’s control over Mali’s wealth. A warning to the voracious appetites of foreign raptors, whether Australian or Chinese.
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