Mali industrial gold production drops 2.6% to 63.4 tonnes in 2021

The Syama gold complex in Mali. (Photo by Philip Mostert | Resolute Mining)

Mali’s industrial gold production was 63.4 tonnes in 2021, more than the 60.5 tonnes forecast but a 2.6% drop from output the previous year, a mines ministry official said on Thursday.

Mali is one of Africa’s top gold producers and home to industrial mines operated by companies including Barrick Gold , B2GOLD, Resolute Mining, AngloGold Ashanti and Hummingbird Resources.

Barrick Gold is the country’s biggest producer with output reaching 23.4 tonnes last year, followed by B2GOLD with 19.6 tonnes and Resolute Mining with 5.8 tonnes, according to Mamadou Sidibe, head of the mines ministry’s statistics department.

With an estimated 6 tonnes produced in artisanal mines, Mali’s total gold production last year was 69.4 tonnes, Sidibe told Reuters.

Forecasts for 2022 are not yet available, but output is expected to rise, he said.

(By Tiemoko Diallo and Nellie Peyton; Editing by Alison Williams)

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