BARRICK Gold and AngloGold Ashanti have completed the sale of their combined 80% stake in Morila, a gold mine in Mali, for £28.8m – slightly higher than the $27m value first imputed to the transaction earlier this year.
Once styled “the gorilla”, the mine was the springboard for Randgold Resources more than 20 years ago. In 2019, Randgold was merged with Barrick Gold.
Since it went into production in October 2000, Morila has produced 6.9 million ounces of gold and paid more than $2.5bn to its stakeholders in the form of dividends and taxes, said Barrick Gold in a statement.
Morila, which was scheduled for closure in 2021, will now be operated by Firefinch, previously known as Mali Lithium. The Mali government retains its 20% stake in Morila.
Mark Bristow, CEO of Barrick Gold, said his firm remained “… committed to its partnership with Mali, where it owns and operates the Tier One Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex”.
Barrick has targeted ownership of so-called tier one gold assets defined by annual production of 500,000 oz of gold a year for a minimum of 10 years in the lower half of the industry cost curve.
Morila transitioned to a stockpile treatment operation in 2009 and began processing tailings in 2013. It produced 27,000 oz of gold last year.
For AngloGold, the transaction signals its last current involvement in Mali. In December 2019, it announced the sale of its 41% stake in the Sadiola gold mine in Mali for $52.5m.
