The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that Barrick has suspended operations in Mali at one of its biggest international mines after the country's military junta seized gold from the mine in an escalating tax dispute. The Globe's Geoffrey York and Niall McGee write that the Canadian miner said Tuesday the military regime of the West African country had confiscated gold from the company's Loulo-Gounkoto mining complex and had transported the precious metal to a custodial bank. The government, which has been blocking exports from the mine since December, obtained an interim attachment order from a judge last week to allow it to seize the gold. The authorities seized about three tonnes of gold from the Barrick mine, worth around $245-million (U.S.), and shipped it out of the mine in two helicopter loads. Loulo-Gounkoto, which is 80 per cent owned by Barrick and 20 per cent by Mali, produced more than 420,000 ounces of gold during the first nine months of 2024. The mines account for about 14 per cent of Barrick's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Rick Rule, a well-known mining sector investor and owner of Rule Investment Media, characterized the seizure of the gold stock as theft.