Exclusive-Barrick Gold contractors in Mali lay off staff amid government dispute -documents, sources

By Portia Crowe and Divya Rajagopal DAKAR (Reuters) -At least four subcontractors employing several hundred people at Barrick Gold's complex in Mali are laying off staff following a two-year dispute between the Canadian miner and the state, according to documents seen by Reuters and people familiar with the matter. Some of the subcontractors said they have not received any payments from Barrick for months. The layoffs indicate that the dispute between the world's No. 2 gold producer and the West African nation is not expected to end anytime soon. Operations at Barrick's Loulo-Gounkoto complex, a major source of gold production for the Toronto-based company and the largest mining operation in Mali, have been suspended since January after the government seized around 3 metric tons of gold stock from it, accusing the company of not fulfilling its tax obligations.

Mali's government, which took power after coups in 2020 and 2021 and introduced a new mining code in 2023, had been blocking the company's gold exports since early November. Boart Longyear's local subsidiary, BLY Mali, said in a letter dated Friday that it was liquidating the company following the suspension of its contract with Barrick on January 25, which it said "placed BLY in an irremediably compromised situation." It employed 98 people at the complex as of March, according to a document seen by Reuters. ETASI, a heavy equipment rental company, said in a letter dated Wednesday and seen by Reuters on Friday that it would suspend all personnel. It employed 68 people as of last month, according to the same internal document. A work-placement firm representing ATC, a metal construction company, sent letters to employees notifying them that they were being laid off following the expiry of a three-month temporary work stoppage that began earlier this year, according to a source who shared one of the letters, dated Tuesday and seen by Reuters on Friday.

ATC employed 45 people at the mining complex as of January but only four as of March, according to the internal document. Some of the employee figures could be higher. MAXAM, a civil explosives subcontractor for the Loulo-Gounkoto complex, will announce a temporary work stoppage for most of its employees in Mali as soon as Saturday, according to a person familiar with the matter and a letter seen by Reuters. But while the internal document lists the subcontractor as having 69 employees at the site as of March, the source said the real figure is nearly double that - over 120 - because its employees work in rotations. Story Continues Geneva-based subcontractor SGS , meanwhile, was granted a three-month temporary work suspension beginning February 1 and due to expire next week, according to a government document seen by Reuters on Friday.

It is unclear what steps will be taken after its expiry. Spokespeople for BLY, ETASI, ATC, SGS and MAXAM did not immediately respond to requests for comment, nor did spokespeople for Barrick Gold and Mali's mines ministry. ESCALATION Last week, Malian authorities shut Barrick's office in the capital Bamako over the alleged non-payment of taxes, an escalation of the dispute. Barrick employees have continued to receive their salaries despite the office closure and suspension of operations at the mining complex, according to a person familiar with the matter. Nearly 40 Malian Barrick staff from the Loulo-Gounkoto complex are being at least temporarily transferred to Barrick's Kibali mine in Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the same person, who said the transfers are part of a first wave but that 100 Malian staff in total have been identified for relocation.

Barrick in February signed an agreement to end the dispute, but the Malian government has yet to approve or execute it. (Reporting by Portia Crowe; Additional reporting by Divya Rajagopal in Toronto; Editing by Veronica Brown and Marguerita Choy)