DAKAR/TORONTO, Sept 10 (Reuters) - A senior Barrick

Mining ( B ) executive who had been representing the company

in tense negotiations with Mali's government has switched sides

to become an adviser to Mali's president, a mines ministry

official told Reuters on Wednesday.

Hilaire Diarra was general manager of Barrick's Tongon Gold

Mine in Ivory Coast before he was named special counsellor to

Mali's president in a decree signed in late August and seen by

Reuters this week.

The mines ministry official confirmed the document's

authenticity on Wednesday.

The move represents a further blow to the Canadian mining

company's efforts to negotiate for control of its Loulo-Gounkoto

gold mining complex, one of the most high-profile examples of

resource nationalism among West African military governments

seeking greater control over their gold and uranium wealth.

Diarra and a Barrick spokesperson did not respond

immediately to requests for comment.

Mali's government has been negotiating with Barrick since

2023 over the implementation of a new mining code that raises

taxes and gives the government a greater share of its gold

mines. It has previously enlisted former senior Barrick

executives to try to outmanoeuvre the company.

A Malian court-appointed provisional administrator took

control of the Loulo-Gounkoto site in June, six months after

Barrick suspended operations there when negotiations

reached an impasse. Former Barrick executive Samba Toure is now

a member of the provisional administration running operations at

the complex.

Loulo-Gounkoto produced 578,000 ounces of gold in 2024,

Barrick's financial statements show. Since the provisional

administrator took control, it has sold 1 metric ton of gold, or

about 35,274 ounces. Current production levels are about 25% of

normal output, said a source close to the matter.

Diarra, a Malian citizen who began his career at the Loulo

mine, had flown to Bamako from Ivory Coast this year to

negotiate on behalf of the Canadian miner, the same source and

two other people said.