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By Divya Rajagopal and Arunima Kumar
(Reuters) -Barrick Mining is spending $15 million a month to keep its Mali mine running and doesn't know where Mali's government is keeping the gold it confiscated from the Canadian company, CEO Mark Bristow said on Wednesday.
In an interview about the long-running conflict with authorities in the West African nation, Bristow said the government there had walked back on an agreement to settle a tax dispute three times, and called the jailing of Barrick employees in the country a human rights violation.
"You have four executives from a Western world company incarcerated, which can be only described as human rights abuse," Bristow said.
He said that the jailed executives have worked harder for Mali than the people who are currently leading negotiations for its government. "We don't know where the gold is; it is allegedly in secure custody, but we don't know that," he said.
Barrick and Mali's government have been locked in a dispute for more than six months over the Loulo-Gounkoto complex, Barrick's largest mine in Mali.
In addition to arresting the four Barrick employees, authorities confiscated around 3 metric tonnes of gold in January following accusations that Barrick was not in compliance with its tax obligations, prompting the miner to shut down the mine. Based on the current gold price, the value of the confiscated gold is around $318 million.
Barrick reported a first-quarter profit on Wednesday that beat analysts' estimates, driven by a surge in gold prices that helped offset lower production.
Lower production was the result of the Mali mine production shutdown. When asked whether Barrick could look for a possible buyer for the asset, Bristow, who has overseen the mine's operations for nearly two decades, said it was "a controversial question, as very few people will be able to run the mine.
"It is one of the biggest mines in the world, it is very complex, and nobody is prepared to go into Mali," he said.
For Barrick's boss, the Mali standoff is not new. The miner has operations in some of the most volatile locations across the world, and Bristow has been part of some tough disputes elsewhere, including in Pakistan and Papua New Guinea.
On his future, Bristow said the company has indicated to markets that he will be in the current role until 2028, but there is a succession program in place that is overseen by the board. "In due course we will be sharing it, but (it's) too early to share", he said.