BAMAKO, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Resolute Mining ( RMGGF ) CEO

Terence Holohan and two other employees of the Australian

company were still being detained in Mali on Thursday, two

diplomatic sources there told Reuters.

Resolute said on Sunday that Holohan and the two other

employees had been temporarily detained by government officials

in the military-led West African country.

It has not provided any further update on the situation.

The executives were in Mali's capital Bamako to hold

discussions with mining and tax authorities regarding general

activities related to the company's business practices.

Resolute's shares fell as much as 8.1% to A$0.395 on

Thursday, their lowest level since late March, after Bloomberg

reported that the Malian military junta was seeking at least

$161 million from the company to settle a dispute mainly

concerning alleged back taxes.

Trading in Resolute shares was halted on the Australian

Stock Exchange and the company said in a filing it "will provide

further updates as and when appropriate".

It did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

In its statement on Sunday, Resolute said that the three

executives had been discussing "unsubstantiated" claims made

against the company during their meeting with the authorities.

Mali's junta adopted a new mining code in August 2023

allowing the country to increase its ownership of gold

concessions and recoup what it said is a major shortfall in

production revenues.

The move has strained relations with major gold mining

conglomerates operating in Mali, which in addition to Resolute

include Barrick Gold ( GOLD ), the world's second gold miner,

and Canadian rival B2Gold ( BTG ).

Authorities in September briefly detained four Malian staff

working for Barrick and have demanded at least $500 million in

outstanding taxes and dividends. The two parties are in talks.

($1 = 618.0000 CFA francs)

(Additional reporting by Alessandra Prentice, Jessica Donati

and Felix Njini; Writing by Sofia Christensen; Editing by

Alexander Smith)