Mali Mines Report ‘Business as Usual’ Following Coup


Companies with operating gold mines in Mali reported no measurable impact on their operations after a
recent military coup in the country. Shown here is Randgold Resources/AngloGold Ashanti’s Morila mine.
(Photo courtesy AngloGold Ashanti)
A negotiated settlement following a March 22, 2012, military coup in Mali installed an interim president and an interim prime as heads of the nation’s government in April. The settlement grew out of negotia-tions between the coup leaders and repre-sentatives of countries within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOW-AS). However, the route back to stable civil-ian rule in Mali remained uncertain. Rebels seized control of the northern half of the country as political events unfolded in the capital, Bamako, and a near-term agree-ment to end the rebellion seemed unlikely.

Mali’s gold mines, which are located in the south and west of the country, contin-ued to operate normally during the coup and government change and were not immediately impacted by the rebellion in the north. Companies with operating gold mines in Mali include Randgold Re-sources/AngloGold Ashanti (the Morila mine), AngloGold Ashanti/Iamgold (Sadiola and Yatela), Randgold Resources (Loulo), Resolute Mining (Syama) and Avion Gold (Segala and Tabakoto).

In a statement issued April 9, Randgold said it welcomed the political settlement brokered in Mali by its West African neigh-bors and that the disruptions that followed coup had not materially affected Randgold’s gold production.

As featured in Womp 2012 Vol 05 - www.womp-int.com