Resolute Mining shares suspended in Australia

A London-listed goldminer whose boss has been detained in Mali over a dispute with the government has been thrown into further turmoil after trading in its Sydney-quoted shares was suspended.
Resolute Mining’s Australian stock has temporarily stopped trading after “various articles published relating to the status of negotiations with the government in Mali”, the company said in a statement.
The London-listed shares fell by 17.5 per cent to close at 18¾p, which takes the fall since the start of the week to almost 50 per cent.
Terence Holohan, Resolute’s chief executive, had been holding discussions with Mali’s mining and tax authorities when he was detained along with two other employees. The three British citizens continue to be held in the country’s capital, Bamako.
The dispute underscores the rising tensions between the military junta that took power in 2020 and foreign miners operating in the west African country.
The government has been applying pressure to companies to sign up to a new mining code, which would allow the state to take a stake of up to 30 per cent in projects and an additional 5 per cent at a later date, which can be given to private Malian investors.
The price of gold has enjoyed a significant rally this year as investors have bet on interest rate cuts and flocked to the traditional “safe haven” asset as geopolitical tensions have escalated.
Resolute has said in the past that it signed a legally binding mining convention with the previous government, which runs until 2029.
In its 2022 annual report, the company said it had received demands for tax payments of $101 million from the Malian authorities in relation to 2015 to 2021.
London-listed companies that have not signed up to the new mining code include Hummingbird Resources, although it is in discussions with the Mali government. Companies that have completed the renegotiations with the government include B2Gold and Allied Gold, which are both Canadian.
About two-thirds of Resolute’s profits are generated by the Syama project in Mali, which produced about 212,000 ounces of gold last year. The government has a 20 per cent stake in the mine.
“Resolute will provide further updates as and when appropriate,” the company said.