Mali junta issues $250m tax demand for Resolute Mining as it holds CEO Terry Holohan and two other execs

Mali is demanding Perth-based Resolute Mining pay almost $250 million to resolve a tax dispute after the government detained the gold producer’s chief executive, sources report. Terry Holohan and two colleagues have been held in the capital, Bamako, since late last Friday after the Resolute boss travelled 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. The government’s position is that Resolute — which operates the Syama gold mine — should pay the state $247m to settle a dispute mainly concerning alleged back taxes following a sector-wide audit, sources say. The parties have been discussing a potential agreement that would see the company pay half that sum now and half at a later date. Dual-listed Resolute declined to comment overnight Wednesday. The claims against the firm were “unsubstantiated”, the miner said in a statement on Monday. “The company is continuing to work with the government on a resolution.” Mali’s mines and finance ministries didn’t respond to requests for comment. 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 per cent jump in the price of bullion this year. Resolute’s shares have slumped more than 35 per cent this week since news of the detention of Mr Holohan, understood to be a British national, became public, cutting its market value to $916m The authorities have also threatened to reclaim Barrick Gold 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 and B2Gold Corp. have recently announced agreements that will govern the future operations of their Sadiola and Fekola projects in the country. They will pay about $US116 million and $US204 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. Bloomberg