Mali announces more new mining deals under revised code

BAMAKO, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Mali has approved seven agreements granting the state more revenue from international and local mining companies in the latest push by the military government to extract more income from the sector.

The Council of Ministers approved the exploitation and exploration agreements at its meeting on Friday, according to a statement published late on Friday, giving Mali a guaranteed, non-reducible stake in mining projects with priority access to dividends.

The agreements apply to gold mines including the Sadiola project operated by an Allied Gold AAUC.TO subsidiary, B2Gold's BTO.TO Fekola mine and Resolute Mining's RSG.AX site at Syama, as well as Ganfeng's 002460.SZ Bougouni project.

Mali's military rulers introduced a new mining code in 2023, increasing royalties to 10% from 6.5% while expanding state and local ownership of mines to at least 35% from 20%.

The latest deals follow preliminary agreements signed with the same companies between September and November 2024.

Resolute Mining declined to comment. Allied Gold, B2Gold and Ganfeng did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

Endeavour Mining EDV.L and other gold producers have previously signed agreements reflecting the terms of Mali's revised mining code.

Canadian company Barrick Mining ABX.TO, however, remains locked in a long-running standoff with the government.

Reuters reported this month that a senior Barrick executive who once represented the gold miner in negotiations with Mali's government had switched sides to become an adviser to Mali's president, further complicating matters for Barrick.

Mali is one of Africa's top gold producers, but regulatory uncertainty has weighed on investment and output.

The government, like others in the region, has emphasised resource nationalism while pivoting from Western investors to courting Russian interests.