Workers at Barrick Mining’s (TSX:ABX) Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex in Mali are threatening to strike at the end of this month over unpaid wages and other labour disputes.
Reuters reports that unions representing workers at both the complex’s mines have issued strike notices to management, threatening a four-day walkout from 28 September to 1 October.
The unions are demanding action over overtime pay, reimbursement of mission expenses, and the implementation of existing labour agreements, according to Reuters.
Separately, unions representing workers employed by Loulo-Gounkoto’s catering and support services contractor have issued notice of a five-day strike from 28 September to 2 October.
Mining regulator workers also threaten strike
The potential disruption extends beyond Loulo-Gounkoto.
Unions representing workers at Mali’s National Directorate of Geology and Mines and other mining administration agencies have called for a 72-hour strike from 29 September to 1 October, Reuters reports.
The government workers are seeking payment of outstanding salaries, allowances, and mining-sector bonuses.
The strike threats come as Mali moves to reopen its mining licensing regime following a more than two-year freeze associated with a clean-up of the country’s mining repository.
Barrick operations face renewed uncertainty
The threatened industrial action raises the prospect of renewed disruption at Loulo-Gounkoto, which was at the centre of a lengthy dispute between Barrick and Mali’s military-led government.
The dispute followed Mali’s adoption of a new mining code designed to increase the state’s economic interest in the country’s mine operations.
A settlement was reached at the end of 2025, restoring Barrick’s operational control over Loulo-Gounkoto, one of Africa’s largest gold mining complexes.
In February, the Malian Government approved a draft decree renewing the Loulo gold mining permit for another 10 years.
Barrick Mining also decided in May not to renew its contract with Gounkoto Mining Services, previously the largest contractor at the complex.
Write to Jackson Chen at Mining.com.au
Main Image: Barrick Mining
