The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that Barrick chief executive officer Mark Bristow says former employees are working with the Malian government in a way that he suggests could be damaging for the Canadian gold miner, as its massive operation in the country remains on ice. The Globe's Niall McGee writes that Barrick was forced to halt its operations in Mali last month after an escalation of a dispute with the military junta government that had been building for about a year. Mali has demanded at least $417-million (U.S.) from Barrick to make up for allegedly not paying its fair share of taxes previously. The Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex is 80 per cent owned by Barrick and 20 per cent by Mali. It produced more than half a million ounces of gold last year. In a conference call with analysts on Wednesday, Mr. Bristow said that former Barrick workers are feeding information to Mali. "There are two of our ex-employees who are advising the government, who in our mind have conflicts of interest in many different aspects," Mr. Bristow said. "They are claiming that the mining industry had not fulfilled its obligations." In November, authorities arrested several Barrick senior managers, and they remain in prison.