Ganfeng begins production at Goulamina lithium mine in Mali
The project is one of the largest lithium mines in Africa.
State revenue from gold mining companies in Mali fell 26% last year, hit by lower taxes, a document from the west African country’s mines ministry showed on Wednesday.
Mali is one of Africa’s top gold producers and is home to mining companies including Barrick Gold, Resolute Mining and Hummingbird Resources.
The revenue paid by mining companies to the Treasury fell to 563.8 billion CFA francs ($936.54 million) last year from 763.6 billion CFA francs in 2022, according to the document shared with Reuters.
The decrease in revenue was mainly due to lower taxes, which had fallen to 384.9 billion CFA francs last year from 532.7 billion in 2022.
The document did not provide any explanation for the reduction in taxes paid in 2023.
Last year, Mali adopted a new mining code which will allow the military-led government to increase its ownership of gold concessions and recoup what it says is a major shortfall in production revenues.
Economy minister Alousseni Sanou said last month that the country’s recent deal with China’s Ganfeng Lithium could bring Mali between 110 billion and 115 billion CFA per year from 2025.
($1 = 602.0000 CFA francs)
(By Tiemoko Diallo and Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
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