Barrick Will Pay 430 Million Dollars to Mali to Settle Their Mining Dispute

November 2025

Barrick Mining is said to have agreed to pay 244 billion CFA francs (430 million dollars) as part of its agreement with Mali, under the deal concluded by the company to end a two-year dispute that led to the closure of the Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex, according to Bloomberg.

The payment is expected to be made within six days following the signing of the agreement with the Malian government. In addition, 50 billion CFA francs will be paid as VAT compensation, while a down payment of an equivalent amount was already paid last year, the report specifies.

This news comes as Barrick has reached an agreement with the Malian government to end their dispute, thus dispelling the uncertainty hanging over the operation of its Loulo-Gounkoto complex in this African country. Its shares jumped.

In a press release published on Monday, the Toronto-based gold mining company confirmed that the Malian state had dropped all charges against the company and its subsidiaries and that it would return operational control of Loulo-Gounkoto to Barrick. The Malian government will also organise the release of four Barrick employees held for a year.

In exchange, Barrick said it would withdraw its arbitration complaint against Mali, which it had filed with the World Bank’s arbitral tribunal in December after the junta-led Malian government blocked gold shipments from the Loulo-Gounkoto site.

This announcement follows a previous Reuters report according to which the two parties had reached a verbal agreement to settle their disputes.

This agreement officially ends two years of conflict concerning one of Africa’s most important mining sites. Last year, Loulo-Gounkoto produced 723,000 ounces of gold, ranking it among the world’s top ten producers. Barrick holds 80% of the mining complex, with Mali retaining the remaining 20%.

Jefferies analysts indicated that restarting and ramping up the mine could take around six to twelve months.

After the announcement of the dispute settlement, Barrick’s share reached a new 52-week high at $39.96 in New York, before pulling back at Tuesday’s market open. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has risen more than 145%, outperforming its competitors Newmont and Agnico Eagle Mines.

The dispute dates back to 2023, when Mali imposed a new mining code and demanded millions of euros from Barrick in economic spin-offs and taxes. The situation worsened early this year when the Malian state seized Barrick’s gold, forcing the company to suspend its activities before placing it under provisional administration.

In the context of the Malian dispute, Barrick had to write off $1 billion in revenue from its Mali operations and experienced a major leadership change with the departure of former CEO Mark Bristow, who played a key role in the development of Loulo-Gounkoto.

By MNM, Divine Mwenda with Bloomberg