Vancouver-headquartered B2Gold said on Monday that the Mali government had not renewed the Menankoto exploration permit, which formed part of the Anaconda area located about 20 km north of the Fekola mine licence area.
The company’s Malian subsidiary applied for a one-year renewal of the permit in early February and advised a month later that the new permit would not be granted.
“The company strongly believes that Menankoto is entitled to a renewal of the permit under applicable law and is engaged in ongoing discussions with the Malian government to clarify the situation,” B2Gold said.
The gold miner noted that the current life-of-mine plan for the Fekola mine, which is projected to produce 530 000 oz to 560 000 oz of gold this year, did not include the Anaconda area mineral resource.