Barrick executive switches sides to advise Mali president in gold dispute

By Portia Crowe and Divya Rajagopal

DAKAR/TORONTO, Sept 10 (Reuters) - A senior Barrick Mining ABX.TO executive who had been representing the company in tense negotiations with Mali's government has switched sides to become an adviser to Mali's president, a mines ministry official told Reuters on Wednesday.

Hilaire Diarra was general manager of Barrick's Tongon Gold Mine in Ivory Coast before he was named special counsellor to Mali's president in a decree signed in late August and seen by Reuters this week.

The mines ministry official confirmed the document's authenticity on Wednesday.

The move represents a further blow to the Canadian mining company's efforts to negotiate for control of its Loulo-Gounkoto gold mining complex, one of the most high-profile examples of resource nationalism among West African military governments seeking greater control over their gold and uranium wealth.

Diarra and a Barrick spokesperson did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

Mali's government has been negotiating with Barrick since 2023 over the implementation of a new mining code that raises taxes and gives the government a greater share of its gold mines. It has previously enlisted former senior Barrick executives to try to outmanoeuvre the company.

A Malian court-appointed provisional administrator took control of the Loulo-Gounkoto site in June, six months after Barrick ABX.TO suspended operations there when negotiations reached an impasse. Former Barrick executive Samba Toure is now a member of the provisional administration running operations at the complex.

Loulo-Gounkoto produced 578,000 ounces of gold in 2024, Barrick's financial statements show. Since the provisional administrator took control, it has sold 1 metric ton of gold, or about 35,274 ounces. Current production levels are about 25% of normal output, said a source close to the matter.

Diarra, a Malian citizen who began his career at the Loulo mine, had flown to Bamako from Ivory Coast this year to negotiate on behalf of the Canadian miner, the same source and two other people said.