Africa's mining sector is witnessing a surge in legal disputes in the Sahel and Central Africa, as mining companies face increasing scrutiny in the countries in which they operate. The disputes stem from tax and customs audits, and a lack of expertise in managing finance, arbitration, and change in legislations in some countries.
In a statement Wednesday, officials with the Barrick Gold Corporation said its operating entities in Mali submitted a request for arbitration to the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes, ICSID, to address the disagreement with the Mali government regarding the Loulo-Gounkoto complex.
Barrick, the world’s second-largest gold miner, and the Mali military government have been in a dispute over new mining rules since 2023.
The new rules seek to give the state and local private investors a 35 percent interest in mining projects, up from 20 percent.
The International Arbitration, or ICSID, registered cases in six sub-Saharan countries this year: Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Senegal, South Sudan, and Tanzania.
Of the cases filed by investors and countries, 28 percent were in the oil, gas, and mining sectors, the highest.
Beverly Ochieng is a senior analyst with Control Risks, a firm specializing in political, security, and integrity risks. She says inward-looking countries and mineral rights are causing authorities to clash with mining firms.
“Across the continent, there has been this bigger drive toward resource nationalism whereby countries feel that because they are the biggest stakeholders of those resources, whether its gold, zinc, uranium, they ought to put in legislation or update their legislation to make sure that the government earns a lot more. So, it hasn’t quite led to disputes in other countries in a way it publicly played out in Mali, but it is bound to raise some concerns on how that transition happens,” said Ochieng.
Mining experts argue that political instability, particularly in countries like Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, changes in mining laws and alliances have affected companies that have been mining in those countries for decades.
Some countries have shut down mining sites because of alleged environmental damage and failure to remit taxes to the government.
Disputes between companies and states arise from changes in government, insecurity, political instability, tax evasion, tribal authority, and environmental and social issues.
Paul Ogendi teaches law at the University of Nairobi. He says strong governance and rule of law are crucial for effective dispute resolution and preventing conflict and suffering.
“We need to have the governance structure operating so that the judiciary and other arbitration or other dispute mechanisms can operate," he said. "If we don’t have strong governance and institutions, particularly working under the rule of law, it will be a waste of time to go to court or any other forum to arbitrate or resolve your dispute because the players will ignore it and will continue destabilizing the region and this will continue to spur a conflict and the suffering of the people.”
Geopolitical tensions are also influencing some African countries' decisions to deny or revoke licenses of some companies and give them to their newfound friends, like China and Russia.
Ochieng says African nations are diversifying partnerships, while Western operators face regulatory challenges as new players reshape the landscape.
“It also allows African countries to diversify their partners and to strengthen their own resources," he said. "It will take a very long time for that to happen, but it’s not necessarily the biggest threat for Western operators. For Western operators it’s the issue of compliance and ensuring they have an understanding of how these governments, various governments have various factors of compliance that they need to adhere to. The emergence of a new place is definitely going to change that environment, and it's going to be seen as an opportunity or a threat depending on who is assessing it.”
The ICSID says 88 proceedings were concluded in 2024. Of these, 71 percent were settled by the tribunal, and 29 percent were settled or proceedings discontinued. This year, Tanzania reached an agreement with Canadian company Montero Mining and Exploration Limited over a licensing dispute and agreed to pay $27 million.
