Mali’s Council of Ministers approved six exploitation and exploration agreements, advancing the military government’s plan to capture more mining revenue under the 2023 code that raised the royalty to 10% from 6.5% and expanded state and local ownership to at least 35% from 20%.
The government said the new pacts guarantee a non-reducible state stake in each covered project and priority access to dividends, formalizing stricter fiscal and ownership terms first signaled when the code was enacted.
The official Council of Ministers communiqué lists six mining items: B2Gold’s Fekola mine (Avenant No. 3 to its 2017 convention); the Sadiola gold operation (run by an Allied Gold subsidiary); the Syama gold mine (Resolute Mining); the Torakoro/Goulamina lithium project (Lithium du Mali S.A.); the Bougouni–Foulaboula lithium project (Les Mines de Lithium de Bougouni S.A.); and Roscan Gold Mali-SARL’s exploration-permit renewal.
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The six agreements follow preliminary pacts reached with the same companies between September and November 2024, converting those term sheets into formal exploitation and exploration arrangements under the revised code.
Mali, one of Africa’s top gold producers, has seen investment weighed down by regulatory uncertainty even as the government emphasizes resource nationalism and courts non-Western partners.
Other producers, including Endeavour Mining, have previously signed agreements reflecting Mali’s revised code, according to prior official statements, while Barrick Gold remains in a long-running standoff with the government.
Barrick’s flagship Loulo-Gounkoto complex has been under a court-appointed provisional administrator since June 16, after months of export blocks, bullion seizures and detentions. Mali authorities even airlifted about one ton of gold from site by military helicopter on July 10 to help fund operations.
Also in July, a court rejected Barrick’s appeal to release four employees detained since November 2024.
The company said it booked around $1.04 billion loss in Q2 for deconsolidating the asset. Things complicated further when Hilaire Diarra, a senior Barrick executive who had represented the company in talks, switched sides to become a special counsellor to Mali’s president.
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