Mali strengthens mining controls and transparency measures
Summary and headline written by AI from the source article. How we work
Mali's Minister of Mines, Amadou Keïta, introduced reforms to clean up the country's mining sector during a press conference on October 22, 2026.
The government aims to increase national sovereignty and ensure that mining activities provide greater benefits to the country. Since 2023, a new mining code and local content law have allowed Malian interests to own up to 35% of the capital in mining projects.
The government has taken active steps to audit mining companies, which resulted in the recovery of 761 billion FCFA in arrears. To organize the mining registry, officials froze new permit requests starting in November 2022. This move led to the cancellation of more than 90 exploration permits by October 2025. While the ministry renewed 24 gold and lithium exploration permits in late 2026, Keïta clarified that these do not grant automatic rights to begin exploitation.
Mining production saw a decline in 2025 to 42.2 tonnes of gold, but rebounded by more than 30% in the first half of 2026 to reach 23.5 tonnes. The government also manages funds for local development; in 2025, the local development mining fund gathered 18.4 billion FCFA for 819 communes. Another fund raised 109.14 billion FCFA for infrastructure projects.
Keïta announced that the Special Mining Brigade will intensify the fight against illegal gold mining to stop soil degradation, mercury and cyanide pollution, and fatal accidents. The ministry plans to establish a school for mining and petroleum and a research agency for mineral resources. The government will distribute newly freed zones to serious operators in a transparent manner.
