Mali has announced new rules to better control artisanal gold mining. The country plans to require permits for small miners and establish 200 cooperatives with help from the World Bank as part of an initiative to formalize trade through intermediaries.
These advances will allow Mali to increase its total production by 15%, according to the Minister of Mines, Lamine Traoré. The country has a desire to overtake South Africa as the continent’s second largest producer.
“We can go from being the third largest gold producer to the second in Africa,” said Lamine Traoré.
It should be noted that Bamako had adopted a mining code that entered into force at the end of 2020 which had established plans to overhaul the sector, without any measure having been implemented.
According to local authorities, “Mali loses up to 15 tonnes per year – or about $ 860 million at today’s price – of artisanal gold production that has smuggled out of the country. Its favorable export taxes also encourage supplies to enter the country illegally before being shipped. ”
Mali’s industrial gold mining production is estimated at 70 tonnes in 2021 and could reach 80 tonnes in the coming years as Mali formalizes artisanal mining and other operations are put online, according to official figures from the Ministry of Mines.
