Resolute shares suspended after Mali demands $160m

Resolute Mining suspended trading after Mali demanded the Australian gold miner pay about $160-million to resolve a tax dispute that’s seen its chief executive officer detained.

The company’s shares in Sydney were suspended pending an announcement, it said in an exchange filing Thursday. The stock fell 8.1% during the trading session and has tumbled 40% in total since news of the detention of CEO Terry Holohan, along with two colleagues, became public at the weekend.

The Mali government’s position is that Resolute – which operates the Syama gold mine – should pay the state 100-billion CFA francs ($162-million) to settle a dispute mainly concerning alleged back taxes following a sector-wide audit, according to people familiar with the matter, asking not to be named as the matters were private. The parties have been discussing a potential agreement that would see the company pay half that sum now and half at a later date, one of the people said.

Holohan and two colleagues have been held in the capital, Bamako, since late last week after the Resolute boss traveled to the city for meetings with the nation’s tax and mining authorities. The detention comes as the military rulers of Africa’s third-largest gold producer ratchet up pressure on mining companies to renegotiate economic terms.

Resolute, which had net cash of $146-million at the end of September, will remain in a trading halt until Monday or when the announcement is released to the market, it said Thursday. In a statement on November 11, the Perth-based miner said the claims against it were “unsubstantiated” and it was “continuing to work with the government on a resolution.”

Mali’s mines and finance ministries didn’t respond to requests for comment.

GOVERNMENT NEGOTIATIONS

Resolute previously negotiated a so-called convention for its Syama asset that runs until 2029, but the nation’s junta have upped pressure on firms with operating gold projects in the country after passing legislation last year that increases the state’s share of economic benefits from mining projects. Their toughening stance also coincides with a 25% jump in the price of bullion this year.

The authorities have also threatened to reclaim Barrick Gold’s Loulo mine permit when it expires in 2026. Mark Bristow, CEO of the world’s no. 2 gold producer, said last week that his company is discussing a “mutually acceptable outcome” with Mali’s leaders.

Allied Gold Corp. and B2Gold have recently announced agreements that will govern the future operations of their Sadiola and Fekola projects in the country. They will pay about $116 million and $204 million respectively to the state under the deals, according to company statements.

Mali has been under military rule since 2020, when interim leader Colonel Assimi Goita ousted the West African nation’s elected president, citing the previous regime’s failure to repel the Islamist insurgents. Since then, mercenaries from the Kremlin-backed Wagner Group have been deployed to the country, while European forces and a United Nations peacekeeping mission were forced to withdraw.