Loulo-Gounkoto mining contractor to exit Mali, with more than 600 jobs at risk

A major mining contractor at Barrick's Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex in western Mali is shutting down its operations in the country after the Canadian miner decided not to renew its contract, Reuters reported on 7 May 2026. More than 600 employees have been served with termination notices.

The contractor, Gounkoto Mining Services (GMS), is tied to France's Bouygues Construction through its mining arm DTP Mining. It has been responsible for extraction at the Gounkoto open pit and at the Yalea North operation. According to people familiar with the matter cited by Reuters, affected workers were serving out their notice periods after completing mandatory exit medical checks.

A spokesperson for Mali's mines ministry called the departure an internal matter between the companies. Barrick and DTP did not comment immediately.

A complex still rebuilding

The contractor's exit comes as Barrick works to restore production at an asset that was idle for much of 2025. Operations were halted in January 2025 after the state seized gold stocks in a dispute over taxes and ownership under Mali's 2023 mining code, and the complex was later placed under provisional state administration. Under a settlement reached in November, Barrick agreed to pay the state $253m and drop arbitration, and it regained operational control in mid-December 2025.

Neither Gounkoto nor Yalea North had fully resumed production by May. Reuters reported that Loulo-Gounkoto produced about 80,000oz in the first quarter of 2026 and was expected to produce about 103,000oz in the second, and that Barrick had lowered its 2026 expectations for the complex and excluded Gounkoto from parts of its operating plan. Barrick's own guidance in February had pointed to 260,000oz to 290,000oz of attributable output from the complex in 2026, far below the 723,000oz it produced in 2024.

Barrick nonetheless described the ramp-up as faster than expected in its first-quarter results on 11 May and again credited Loulo-Gounkoto as one of the main reasons group production beat guidance in the second quarter.

Why it matters

Loulo-Gounkoto generated about $900m of revenue in 2024 and is Mali's largest gold producer. Its shutdown was a major reason Mali's industrial gold output fell 23% in 2025. How quickly Barrick can bring the open pits back will shape both its own African production and Bamako's revenue outlook.

The GMS decision suggests Barrick is reorganising how the open pits will be mined as it rebuilds, rather than simply restarting the pre-dispute set-up. For the more than 600 workers involved, the immediate impact is the loss of their jobs, and for Barrick the test is whether the replacement arrangements can bring Gounkoto and Yalea North back without further delay.

Sources

• Business Insider Africa: French-backed contractor pulls out of Mali's largest gold mine as over 600 jobs come under threat, 08 May 2026
• Reuters: Barrick contractor to exit Mali, lay off more than 600 people, sources say, 07 May 2026
• GlobeNewswire (Barrick release): Barrick Reports First Quarter 2026 Results, 11 May 2026
• Ecofin Agency: Barrick Confirms Gold Production Restart at Mali's Loulo-Gounkoto Mine in 2026, 06 Feb 2026
• The Globe and Mail (Barrick release): Barrick Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results, 10 Aug 2026

Photo: A busy street in Kayes, the main town of the western Malian region that hosts the Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex. NOAA personel, African Monsoon Activities 2006, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.