Australian gold miner Resolute Mining, which operates Mali's Syama gold mine, has paid an initial $80 million to the government of Mali and will pay a further $80 million in the coming months over a tax dispute, the company said in a statement on Monday.
"The protocol [a memorandum of understanding between the Malian government and the miner] also provides that all outstanding claims by the government against the company, including those related to tax, customs levies, maintenance and management of offshore accounts are settled," the statement read.
Resolute has made an initial settlement payment of approximately $80 million to Mali's government from existing cash reserves, with future payments of approximately $80 million to be made in the coming months.
The move follows more than a week of detention in Mali of the company's CEO, Terence Holohan, and two of the company's employees, who were in the capital, Bamako, for discussions with the country's mining and tax authorities about Resolute's operations in the country and to pursue unfounded tax claims against the company, the miner noted in a statement last Monday.
"The executives were in Bamako to hold discussions with the mining and tax authorities regarding general activities related to Resolute’s in-country business practices, and to progress open claims made against Resolute, which the company maintains are unsubstantiated," the statement said.