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Shares in Australian gold miner Resolute Mining fell more than 30% on Monday after the company said CEO Terence Holohan and two other employees had been detained in Mali. did.
Resolute executives were in the capital, Bamako, to discuss “public allegations against Resolute,” which the group claims are “baseless,” Resolute said on Monday.
The company said in its 2022 financial report that it is contesting a request by the Malian tax authority to pay more than $100 million worth of additional taxes for the years 2015 to 2021.
The company operates the Shama mine in Mali through an 80% owned subsidiary. The remaining 20 percent will be held by the government.
The news comes as Mali’s government ramps up pressure on mining companies to renegotiate contracts. Barrick Gold, AngloGold Ashanti and Endeavor Mining all operate gold mines in Mali.
Barrick Gold and the Mali government entered into a dispute in September after the country’s military government said the company owed more than $500 million in unpaid taxes and royalties and had detained four employees. was reconciled. In early October, Barrick Gold paid the government $85 million “as part of ongoing negotiations.”
Richard Hatch, a mining analyst at Berenberg, said the detention of Resolute executives would make “investor sentiment towards Mali even more cautious.”
Listed gold miners have posted strong gains this year as precious metals’ valuations reach record highs. Resolute Mining’s stock price had risen more than 90% in the year before Monday’s plunge.
