EXCLUSIVE-Mali military helicopter airlifts gold from Barrick-owned Loulo-Gounkoto

By Portia Crowe and Divya Rajagopal

DAKAR/TORONTO, July 10 (Reuters) - A Malian military helicopter airlifted gold from the Barrick-owned Loulo-Gounkoto complex on Thursday, three sources said, days after Reuters reported that a court-appointed administrator planned to sell the site's bullion to finance operations.

A Bamako court last month appointed a provisional administrator to restart operations at the West African country's largest gold mining site, nearly six months after Barrick Mining ABX.TO suspended them amid tense negotiations over the implementation of a new mining code.

Barrick said it was forced to suspend operations in mid-January after Mali's military-led government blocked its exports for two months, detained some of its executives and seized three tons of bullion. It also launched arbitration at the World Bank to try to resolve the dispute.

On Thursday morning, a brown and green helicopter touched down at the site's tree-lined landing strip. Its passengers were escorted by the mine's security team to the plant, where the gold room is located, the first source said.

The helicopter took off some five hours later with the bullion on board.

One ton of gold - worth about $107 million - had remained in the site's storeroom since January, when three tons of gold were removed to be stored in a bank vault on the orders of a Malian judge, the first source said.

The full ton was taken on Thursday, the second source said.

The provisional administrator, former health minister Soumana Makadji, has said he plans to finance the mine's operations by selling gold, the first and third sources and a fourth person said.

The first three sources said the airlifted gold would be sold for this purpose.

While drilling and other extractive activities have not yet begun, operations at the site's plant - which processes ore stocks into gold - restarted on Monday, the third and fourth sources and another person said.

According to internal estimates seen by Reuters, it will take between 11 and 13 days from the restart of the plant to the production of the first gold bars.

Spokespeople for Barrick and for Mali's mines ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Makadji could not be reached for comment.

Barrick and Mali's government have been in negotiations since 2023 over the implementation of a new mining code that raises taxes and gives the government a greater share in the gold mines.