Robex Resources has signed a new convention agreement, which allows it to continue mining operations at its Nampala gold mine in Mali.
It has been operating the mine since 2017.
However, a new mining code in the country forces international companies to pay higher taxes and hand over bigger stakes in assets to the state.
Robex said the Council of Ministers of Mali approved the new convention agreement signed between the company, Nampala SA and the government of Mali.
“I would like to thank their excellencies, the Minister of Mines, the Minister of Economy and Finance and all the parties involved for constructive discussions over the past few months, and we look forward to working alongside the government,” said the company managing director Matthew Wilcox.
Mali and mining companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on September 12, 2024, as part of the reforms carried out in the mining sector.
This raised the shares held by the state in the company’s capital into non-contributory, non-dilutable participations entitling them to priority dividends.
This MoU closed all of Robex’s outstanding liabilities with the government and confirmed the applicable conditions from the 2023 mining code.
Other mining companies had been in trouble with Mali’s military junta, which grabbed power in 2020.
The military government issued an arrest warrant for Barrick Gold chief executive Mark Bristow in November and detained four other executives as negotiations over back taxes and alleged money laundering slowed.
It also issued an arrest warrant for Cheick Abass Coulibaly, general manager at Barrick's Loulo-Gounkoto mining complex.
Resolute Mining's British chief executive and two other employees were detained by Mali's military-led authorities in November over a tax dispute.
They were released after the miner agreed to pay $160-million.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor-In-Chief, Rough & Polished
