Australia’s Resolute Mining slumps after Mali detains CEO, two other employees

Nov 11 (Reuters) – Shares of Australian gold miner Resolute Mining Ltd plunged 32% on Monday in their worst day in 16 years, after three of its employees including CEO Terence Holohan were detained by government officials in Mali.

Holohan and two other company executives were in Bamako, the West African nation’s capital, to hold talks with the local mining and tax authorities regarding their operations but were “unexpectedly detained” on Friday, the company said.

Shares of the gold miner slumped as much as 32% to A$0.455, their worst day since October 2008 on Monday. The stock was down 30.6% at A$0.465, as of 0242 GMT.

More than 38.5 million shares have been exchanged thus far, more than twice the monthly average volume of 14.8 million shares.

The executives’ detainment follows Malian authorities also arresting top gold miner Barrick Gold’s four employees in late September, and underscores growing tensions between the military-led authorities and the international miners.

Mali is one of Africa’s biggest gold producers and the government led by junta, which staged a coup in 2020, is seeking to channel a greater share of gold revenue to state coffers including via a new mining code that allows the government to increase its stake in gold projects.

Resolute’s gold mine in Syama, Mali – one of its only two operational mines – contributed nearly two-thirds of its annual sales of 329,061 ounces in 2023. Resolute owns 80% stake in the project, while the Government of Mali holds the rest.

“Resolute has followed all official processes with respect to its affairs and has provided the authorities with detailed responses to all the claims made,” the gold miner said in an exchange filing.

(Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)

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