Mali has issued an arrest warrant for Barrick Gold Chief Executive Mark Bristow, escalating a dispute with the Canadian mining company.
The West African country’s military government is seeking more income from the sector to bolster state revenues as prices of the precious metal rally and has detained mining executives to put pressure on foreign companies operating there.
Four senior local employees of Barrick were briefly detained in September as the government demanded about $500 million in unpaid taxes, and then arrested again last month pending trial.
Bristow told newsmen early last month that the world’s No. 2 gold miner was confident of resolving claims and disputes with authorities before the end of the year.
He is accused of money laundering and violating financial regulations.
