BAMAKO — Mali’s military-led government has approved a new state-owned company to manage the country’s shareholdings in mining projects, a structural move that deepens Bamako’s push for greater sovereign control over one of its most important economic sectors.
The Council of Ministers said the new firm, SOPAMIM, will be fully state-owned and mandated to acquire, hold and administer Mali’s stakes in mining companies. Authorities have framed the initiative as a way to centralize oversight of public mining assets and improve the state’s capture of value from extractive activity.
Mali is one of Africa’s top gold producers, and gold remains the backbone of export earnings and fiscal revenue. The new vehicle comes as the government continues a broader mining-sector reset that began with a tougher legal and fiscal regime under the 2023 mining code.
Under that revised code, Mali increased royalty rates and expanded state-plus-local ownership requirements in new mining projects, part of a wider policy shift justified by officials as “economic sovereignty.”
The SOPAMIM announcement follows the end of Mali’s prolonged dispute with Canadian miner Barrick over the giant Loulo-Gounkoto complex. During the standoff, the government froze exports, seized gold, detained staff linked to local subsidiaries, and pushed for stronger compliance with tax and dividend obligations.
In November 2025, both sides announced a settlement path: Barrick said it would withdraw arbitration claims, while Mali agreed to steps that would restore operational normalcy at Loulo-Gounkoto. That deal reduced immediate legal risk and appears to have created room for Bamako to institutionalize its ownership strategy via a dedicated holding structure.
Regionally, Mali is not alone. Neighboring Niger and Guinea have also built state mechanisms to manage mining stakes, reflecting a broader West African trend toward stronger state participation in extractives.
