March 11th, 2025
Via Bloomberg, a report that Mali plans to resume mining permits that have been suspended for more than two years:
Mali will resume granting permits for mineral exploration as of March 15 after the process was suspended more than two years ago.
The West African nation will also start issuing approvals for exploitation and ownership transfers halted in November 2022, Minister of Mines Amadou Keita said in a statement.
The decision marks a turning point in the implementation of reforms made by the transition government “to ensure rigorous governance of the mining sector,” Keita said.
Mali, one of Africa’s top gold producers, has been under military rule since 2020, when General Assimi Goita ousted the democratically elected government of Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who died in 2022.
The country’s industrial gold production fell to 51 tons in 2024 from 66.5 tons in 2023, according to government data.
The junta has been demanding more from foreign mining companies in back taxes and dividends and adopted a new mining code in 2023 that increased payments to the state.
A months-long standoff between the country and Canadian miner Barrick Gold Corp. over payments from its Loulo-Gounkoto complex has yet to be resolved.
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