The CEO and two executives of the Australian company Resolute, owner of a gold mine in Mali, were arrested while in Bamako to discuss ongoing disputes with the authorities, the company confirmed on Sunday.
The CEO, Terence Holohan, and his two colleagues “were in Bamako to discuss with the mining and tax authorities the company’s commercial practices in Mali in general and to make progress on ongoing claims against Resolute, which continues to declare them unfounded”, Resolute said in a statement published on its website.
“Unexpectedly, the three employees were arrested after the end of these meetings on Friday,” she reported.
The three executives were taken on the same day to the center specializing in the fight against corruption and economic and financial delinquency, and were placed in police custody in a case of suspected forgery and damage to public property, we learned. AFP Saturday from judicial and industrial sources.
Four employees of the Canadian company Barrick Gold, also in dispute with the Malian authorities, were detained for several days at the end of September, then released. Foreign mining companies are under increased pressure from the junta which came to power by force in 2020 and is paying close attention to juicy revenues from the mining industry.
“Resolute is working to reach an agreement with the Malian government that guarantees the long-term future of the Syama gold mine; at the same time its top priority remains the safety and well-being of its employees,” says the company.
The executives benefit from the support of the embassies and consulates of the United Kingdom and other countries present in Mali, she said.
Resolute holds 80% of the shares in the subsidiary that owns the Syama mine (south-west), with the remaining 20% in the hands of the Malian state, indicates the company’s website.
The Malian authorities have made the fight against corruption and the restoration of national sovereignty over natural resources their mantras.
Mali, one of the poorest countries in the world, also faced with jihadism and a multidimensional crisis, is also one of the leading producers of gold in Africa. Gold contributes to a quarter of the national budget and three quarters of export earnings.
The increased pressure exerted on foreign companies coincided with the strategic pivot made by the junta towards Russia.
© With AFP
