TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Canadian gold producer B2Gold on Friday advised that two of its employees were safely extracted by antiterrorist soldiers, after a terrorist group took hostages at the Radisson Blu Hotel, in Bamako, Mali.
The triple-listed miner confirmed that two employees were staying at the hotel at the time of the incident and were safely extracted between 15:30 and 17:00 local Bamako time.
B2Gold was developing the Fekola mine in Mali, which was believed to hold the largest gold deposits in West Africa. The project’s prefeasibility study had estimated that over an initial nine-year mine life, Fekola would produce about 306 000 oz/y of gold at an average operating cost of $580/oz from 2017 onwards.
The capital cost for the project had been estimated at $292-million.
Meanwhile, United Nations (UN) secretary-general Ban Ki-moon condemned the attack in which at least 21 people were killed.
According to a statement by the secretary-general’s spokesperson, Ki-moon noted with concern that these attacks were taking place at a time when the peace process was making good progress and the signatory groups to the agreement on peace and reconciliation in Mali, in particular the Coordination des Mouvements de l'Azawad and the Plateforme, were in Bamako to attend the sixth meeting of the Comité de suivi de l'Accord with the Malian government and international partners.
“The secretary-general deplores any attempt to derail the implementation of the agreement. He expresses his full support to the Malian authorities in their fight against terrorist and extremist groups. He welcomes the statements of the signatory parties to the agreement that they remain committed to its implementation,” the spokesperson stated.
Further, Ki-moon reiterated the commitment of the UN, through the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali, to support the country's government and the parties to the agreement at this critical juncture in the peace process.