B2Gold judges Mali risk to have decreased

B2GOLD judged risk in Mali to have decreased since it complied with the West African country’s new mining code. As a result, the Canadian miner plans to invest $10m in exploration at its Mali mine, Fekola.“From a B2Gold perspective, we have seen a reduction in risk since the signing of our settlement agreement,” Clive Johnson, CEO of B2Gold, told Reuters via email on Tuesday.While other mining companies have run into struggles in Mali, ruled by a military junta since coup events starting in 2020, B2Gold did not fear for its expatirate employees who move freely in and out of the country, said Reuters.That’s not the case for Barrick CEO Mark Bristow who has a warrant out on his arrest after falling out with the junta. Attempts to negotiate a settlement in respect of the code, including payment of back tax claims, have resulted in the suspension of Barrick’s Mali mine Loulo-Gounkoto.“We have expatriate employees that move in and out of the country regularly, including some of the mine management, so there is no reason to think that any detention would ever be contemplated as it relates to B2Gold,” Johnson told Reuters.Another miner, Resolute Mining, had its CEO Terry Holohan and two colleagues, detained by Mali for 10 days. It subsequently agreed to pay the Mali junta $160m to settle tax claims the company originally described as unsupported. Holohan had been negotiating with Mali officials prior to his detainment in Bamako, Mali’s capital.In contrast, B2Gold was one of the first companies to negotiate a settlement with Mali over its new code, settling an income tax demand in September and agreeing to move one part of its exploration to the new regulations, said Reuters.The post B2Gold judges Mali risk to have decreased appeared first on Miningmx.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com