The Mali military administration has released three executives of an Australian mining firm arrested earlier this month, officials confirmed to Anadolu.
Alexandre Goita, special adviser at Mali’s Mining Ministry, said Resolute Mining Ltd.’s Managing Director Terry Holohan and two other employees had been set free on Thursday.
Holohan and two other company executives were taken in police custody from the Economic and Financial Centre in capital Bamako for questioning in a case of alleged forgery and damage to public property.
Sources in the administration said the miner had agreed to pay $160 million to help resolve a tax dispute.
Resolute Mining Ltd. owns 80% shares in Syama gold mine, located in southwestern part of Mali, close to the border with Cote d’Ivoire.
Foreign companies that dominate the mining sector have recently borne the brunt of increased regulatory controls by the military administration, which seized power in 2020. The administration has vowed to ensure a more equitable distribution of mining revenues.