The gold company Resolute pays $160 million to Mali after the arrest of three of its executives

The Australian mining company Resolute announced that it had reached an agreement of 160 million dollars (around 152 million euros), Monday, November 18, to settle its disputes with the Malian government after the arrest of its general director and two other executives in Bamako.

The three leaders of the group that owns a gold mine in Mali were arrested in early November after traveling to the capital for what they thought were ordinary negotiations with the ruling junta. But the group's general director, Briton Terence Holohan, and two of his colleagues were arrested and placed in police custody. “unexpectedly”the company reported. They were questioned in a case of alleged forgery and damage to public property, Agence France-Presse (AFP) learned from a judicial and industrial source.

In a statement sent to the Australian Stock Exchange, Resolute said it would pay the Malian government $80 million from its “existing cash reserves” and that it would make another payment of $80 million in the “months to come”. The agreement resolves all ongoing disputes with the government, “including relating to taxes, customs duties and the management of offshore accounts”she adds. The group “now working with the government on the remaining procedural steps for the release of the three employees”specifies the company. No information has been given as to when Terence Holohan and his colleagues might be released.

Increased pressures

Resolute holds 80% of the shares in the subsidiary that owns the Syama mine (South-West), the remaining 20% ​​being in the hands of the Malian state, according to the company's website. The Australian company also has a gold mining site at Mako in neighboring Senegal and has other exploration projects in Mali, Senegal and Guinea. Resolute has some $157 million in cash in its accounts.

Foreign mining companies are under increased pressure from the junta, which pays particular attention to lucrative revenues from the mining industry. Since taking power by force in 2020, Malian leaders have vowed to ensure the country has a more equitable distribution of revenues from mining, dominated by foreign groups. This increased pressure coincided with the junta's strategic pivot towards Russia, as the authorities made the fight against corruption and the restoration of national sovereignty over natural resources their mantras.

This is the second time in several months that executives of a foreign mining company have been detained in Mali. 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. Barrick Gold explained that it had paid 50 billion CFA francs (around 76 million euros) in October as part of an agreement with the Malian government.

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. The yellow metal contributes to a quarter of the national budget and three quarters of export earnings.