3 executives of Australian gold miner arrested in Mali

By Oumar Sankare

BAMAKO, Mali (AA) - Three executives from an Australian gold miner have been taken in police custody in Bamako, Mali to be questioned in a case of alleged forgery and damage to public property, people familiar with the matter confirmed.

Terry Holohan, managing director of Resolute Mining Ltd., was detained by the Malian junta, a source at the Justice Ministry told Anadolu.

Holohan and two other company executives were arrested on Friday, said the same source, requesting anonymity. Two officials from the Mines Ministry did not wish to communicate on the situation when contacted by telephone.

The executives of Resolute, which owns 80% of the shares in the Syama gold mine in the country's southwest, are being questioned as part of an investigation into alleged forgery and damage to public property. Accusations were firmly refuted by a company official, who also requested anonymity.

Foreign companies that dominate the mining sector have recently borne the brunt of increased efforts to control the sector by the military regime. Four employees of the Canadian company Barrick Gold were detained for several days in September.

Barrick Gold had reached an agreement with the state and had paid 50 billion CFA francs ($81 million) in October. But the transitional government said the gold producer had not kept its commitments.

The increased pressure exerted on foreign companies coincides with the strategic pivot made by the junta towards Russia, ending defense agreements with former colonial ruler France.

Since seizing power in 2020, Mali’s military leaders have vowed to ensure a more equitable distribution of mining revenues.

In May, Australian group Firefinch said it would transfer all its shares in the Morila gold mine, as well as its mining rights in the West African country to Sorem, a state-funded company founded in 2022, for a symbolic one dollar.

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