Mali’s junta turns screw on foreign mining companies

BAMAKO

The CEO and two employees of Australian company Resolute Mining, which owns a gold mine in Mali, were detained while in Bamako to discuss disputes with the authorities, the firm has said. 

It is the second time in just over a month that employees of a foreign mining firm have been detained in Mali, as the ruling military junta seeks greater control over the lucrative sector.

CEO Terence Holohan and two of his colleagues "were in Bamako to hold discussions with the mining and tax authorities regarding general activities related to the company's business practices in Mali," the firm said in a statement on Nov. 11.

The Resolute executives were arrested at a hotel in the Malian capital and taken to a specialised unit set up by the junta to tackle corruption, and economic or financial crimes, a judiciary source told AFP.

They are being questioned over suspicions of false evidence and misappropriation of public goods, said a Resolute executive on condition of anonymity.

Resolute holds 80 percent of a subsidiary that owns the northwestern mine of Syama, with the Malian state controlling the remaining 20 percent.

Since seizing power, Mali's leaders have vowed to ensure a more equitable distribution of mining revenues.

Despite being one of the leading gold producers in Africa, the Sahel nation is also one of the poorest countries in the world.

Gold contributes a quarter of the national budget and three-quarters of export earnings.

Foreign companies, which dominate the mining sector, have recently faced tighter control by the junta.

Four employees of Canadian mining company Barrick Gold in Mali were detained for several days in September before being released.