Barrick Mining Corporation (NYSE: B) has signed a new collective bargaining agreement with the union representing workers at its Loulo-Gounkoto gold mine complex in western Mali, a company spokesman and a union official said on Sunday, easing the threat of a strike.
"We confirm that we have signed a new collective bargaining agreement with the gold mine union," the spokesman said. Bani Sacko, a union official at Barrick's Loulo-Gounkoto mining area, confirmed that strike action has been called off.
"Last Monday, following a meeting, an agreement was reached and the strike action has since been cancelled. It appears all other strike actions have also been cancelled," Sacko said. Sacko added that the Loulo-Gounkoto union had previously submitted a list of 15 demands.
Abdoulaye Coulibaly of the National Union of Malian Workers (UNTM) said: "The strike threat has been resolved." He added that the agreement covers workers at Food & Events Africa, Somilo SA and Gounkoto SA.
Earlier this month, unions representing workers at Somilo and Gounkoto said they would begin strike action at the end of September unless demands including overtime pay, travel expense reimbursement and the implementation of labor agreements were met. Workers at Food & Events Africa, Barrick's catering and logistics contractor, as well as workers at Mali's mining regulator and other mining administration bodies, had also separately filed strike notices.
Mali is one of Africa's leading gold producers. In November last year, after two years of negotiations, the country resolved a dispute with Barrick over profit sharing and control at the Loulo-Gounkoto gold mine complex.
Toronto-based Barrick temporarily suspended operations in January last year after Mali's military government arrested employees of the mining company and issued an arrest warrant for its former chief executive, Mark Bristow, over alleged financial crimes.
The Malian government tightened its control over the mining sector under the 2023 mining code, which aims to increase the state's revenue from the country's natural resources.
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