An Australian mining company has agreed to pay $246 million to secure the release of three employees who’ve been “unexpectedly detained” in the West African country Mali.
Resolute, which owns a gold mine in Mali, said one of the three is its CEO.
It’s not confirmed when the detained employees will be released, but the company said they “remain safe and well”.
It comes after the military-controlled Government created a new policy to increase its earnings from foreign mining projects.
Resolute
Resolute is a Perth-based gold mining company that operates mines in West Africa.
It holds an 80% stake in its mine in Mali – one of Africa’s largest gold producers – with the rest owned by the country’s military-controlled Government.
Last week, the publicly-listed company temporarily stopped the sale of its shares amid negotiations with the Malian Government.
Detention
Resolute executives were detained in Mali’s capital, Bamako, on 8 November after a series of meetings aimed at resolving what the company called “unsubstantiated” allegations.
The company said that after these meetings, three of its employees were “unexpectedly detained” at the offices of Mali’s financial watchdog.
Resolute said that their employees were being “treated well” and had received support from international embassies.
The ‘Protocol’
Resolute and the Malian Government have now negotiated a “Protocol” for their future dealings.
The agreement waives any “outstanding claims by the Government against the Company”, and secures the release of the employees.
In exchange, Resolute will pay Mali a total of $AU246 million. It’s already paid half of the sum upfront.
The agreement also includes a commitment to discuss the company’s “operations” under a new Government policy introduced last year.
The policy increased the maximum stake the Government can hold in mining operations to 30%.
Last month, Canadian mining company Barrick Gold signed a similar agreement with Mali, after four of its employees were detained for alleged policy breaches.
