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Malian court adjourns Barrick Mining's ( B ) hearing to Thursday

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Government seeks provisional control of Barrick's complex

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Gold prices have surged some 28.5% in the year to date

(Adds bullet points, details from paragraph 2)

By Tiemoko Diallo and Portia Crowe

BAMAKO, June 2 (Reuters) - A Malian court has adjourned

to Thursday a hearing on whether to put Barrick Mining's ( B )

Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex under provisional

administration, the court's registry office and one of the

lawyers involved told Reuters on Monday.

Granting the request would represent a major escalation of a

dispute between the West African country and the Canadian miner

after operations at the complex were suspended in January in a

dispute over taxes and ownership.

Barrick Mining ( B ), previously called Barrick Gold ( B ), and Mali's

military-led government have been at odds since 2023 over the

implementation of a new mining code that raises taxes and gives

Mali's government a greater share in the gold mines.

Operations at the mines were halted after the government

in January seized around 3 metric tons of gold, accusing the

company of not fulfilling its tax obligations. The government

had been blocking Barrick's gold exports since early November.

Barrick has said it can only resume operations when the

Malian government removes restrictions on gold exports.

Gold prices have surged some 28.5% in the year to date,

having gained 27% in 2024. The market hit a record $3,500.05 per

ounce on April 22.

Mali's government, a shareholder in the mining complex, last

month asked the Bamako Commercial Court to appoint a provisional

administrator to take over the mines as negotiations between the

two sides continued.

Mali's demand that Barrick migrate to the 2023 mining code

remains the key sticking point in the negotiations, two people

close to the matter told Reuters.

The government has renegotiated agreements with other

multinational miners under the new mining law. Four Barrick

employees have been detained since November 2024 and an arrest

warrant was issued for Chief Executive Mark Bristow in December

2024.

Barrick has publicly rejected the charges against its

employees, without specifying what they are. According to a

court document reviewed by Reuters, they include money

laundering and financing of terrorism.

(Additional reporting by Divya Rajagopal in Toronto; Editing by

Bernadette Baum)