Four Barrick Gold employees detained in Mali
Employees of the Loulo-Gounkoto mine were detained amid the government's push for higher mining taxes.
Bullion was ripping higher in Asian trade on Monday with the gold price scaling the crucial $1,300 level for the first time in a month.
A number of observers say the relatively rare occurrence of backwardation in the gold futures market means that physical demand is about the overwhelm the over-leveraged bullion banks and an imminent short squeeze of epic proportions will send prices soaring again.
