A Mali court has ruled that gold mines held by Canadian giant Barrick Gold in the west of the country be managed for six months by an appointee, effectively baring the company from operating one of the largest gold complexes in the world.

The ruling, which allows Mali’s military-led transitional government to appoint a provisional administrator in charge of the Loulo-Gounkoto complex, comes amid rising tensions between the junta and the Toronto-based company over taxes and mining.

AFP reports that it is the first time Mali has placed a mining company under such a status. The administrator, Zoumana Makadji, will be tasked with “ensuring the mine is opened as quickly as possible”, a magistrate from Bamako’s commercial court told the news agency, adding that after six months a judge will assess the status of talks – or an agreement – with Barrick.

Loulo-Gounkoto, 80%-owned by Barrick, contributed $949mn to the miner’s revenue in the first nine months of 2024, before the dispute ramped up. Mali, which holds the remaining 20%, wants a bigger percentage of profit to go to the state, while Barrick argues that deals cannot be retroactively changed.

The dispute places more than $1bn in potential revenue at risk for both parties. Earlier this month, Barrick announced it had excluded the Loulo-Gounkoto complex from its 2025 production forecast, citing the ongoing legal and political dispute.

The standoff comes amid wider efforts by Mali, Africa’s third-largest gold producer, to revise mining agreements made prior to the military coups of 2020 and 2021. The country introduced a new mining code to that effect and has pushed for future legal disputes to be resolved in its domestic courts. Barrick maintains that arbitration should take place internationally under existing treaties.

Barick said in a statement on June 16 that an arbitration process was “fully underway” via the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), a World Bank arbitration panel.

“The arbitration tribunal has been constituted, and Barrick has submitted a request for provisional measures to prevent further escalation and to safeguard its rights under binding mining conventions with the state of Mali,” the company said.

Meanwhile, Mali has “accused Barrick of not properly paying taxes, royalties and dividends owed to the state, of having a contract that does not reflect Mali’s legitimate interests, and of keeping the state out of the effective management of the mine and its revenues,” a source representing the government’s interests told AFP, explaining the need to place Loulo-Gounkoto under “temporary administration”.

Other mining firms have also faced pressure. In 2024, the CEO of Australia-based Resolute Mining, Terry Holohan, was detained during negotiations with Malian authorities. He and other employees were released after the company paid $80mn to Malian authorities to resolve a tax dispute and promised to pay a further $80mn this year. Similar settlements were made with Canadian firms B2Gold and Allied Gold, allowing continued operations under the new rules.

Mali’s industrial gold production fell 23% to 51 tonnes in 2024, marking a sharp decline from 66.5 tonnes in 2023, the country’s Mines Ministry said, as tensions between the government and foreign miners escalated.

Despite the turmoil, Barrick Gold remains Mali’s largest producer, with an output of 19.4 tons in 2024, excluding December production, followed by B2Gold at 13.7 tons and Resolute Mining at 7.2 tons. Mali’s total gold production, including artisanal mining, is estimated at 58.7 tons for the year, the ministry said.