(Bloomberg) -- Terry Holohan, chief executive officer of Australian gold miner Resolute Mining Ltd., has been detained by the military-controlled government of Mali in West Africa, the company said.
Holohan and two other company executives had traveled to Bamako, the nation’s capital, to hold discussions with local mining and tax authorities but were “unexpectedly detained” by government officials after the meetings concluded on Friday, Resolute said Sunday.
The apparent detention follows a number of arrests in recent weeks targeting fellow gold miner Barrick Gold Corp. employees by the military government, which staged a coup d’état in 2020. Four Barrick employees were arrested in October.
Resolute and other international miners have been under growing pressure since the military seized power as Mali seeks to boost revenue from its mineral resources through a mining code adopted last year. Gold is a key pillar of the economy of the nation, which is grappling with sanctions that have threatened its ability to import goods, and remains cut off from accessing finance via the regional debt market.
The junta has in recent months ramped up efforts to renegotiate existing mining contracts with foreign companies including B2Gold Corp, Allied Gold Corp and AngloGold Ashanti Plc — even as Assane Sidibe, the president of the mining commission within the National Transitional Council, told Bloomberg last year that the regulations should only apply to new contracts and renewals of existing permits.
Resolute has ramped up production at its Syama project in the nation’s southeast and a second phase of the mine is expected to be in operation in 2025. The government holds a 20% stake in the project, which produces around 2.4 million tons of ore a year, according to Resolute’s website.
“Resolute has followed all official processes with respect to its affairs and has provided the authorities with detailed responses to all the claims made,” the company said. “While Resolute is working toward a settlement with the Government of Mali to help secure the long-term future of the Syama Gold Mine, the upmost priority remains the safety and wellbeing of its employees.”
A Mali mining ministry official previously declined to comment when reached by phone.
--With assistance from Sybilla Gross.
(Adds details about Mali’s mining code from fourth paragraph)
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