Keypoints:
- Mali takes 35 percent of Fekola Regional
- Menankoto permit unlocks stalled expansion
- B2Gold targets 150,000 ounces annually from 2028
MALI has cleared B2Gold to advance a major expansion of its Fekola gold operations, with the state securing a 35 percent interest in the new regional project under the country’s tougher 2023 Mining Code.
The approval of the Menankoto exploitation permit gives the Canadian miner the regulatory breakthrough needed to develop Fekola Regional after a prolonged delay. More significantly, it demonstrates how Bamako’s push for a greater share of its mineral wealth is reshaping the terms on which international mining companies operate in one of Africa’s biggest gold-producing countries.
Mali clears Menankoto expansion
Mali’s Council of Ministers approved a large-scale gold exploitation permit for Menankoto-Sud, valid for a maximum of 12 years, in the Kéniéba area of the Kayes region on August 7, according to the government’s official communiqué.
B2Gold confirmed the same day that the permit had been issued to its Malian subsidiary. Menankoto, together with the neighbouring Dandoko exploration permit, forms Fekola Regional, about 20 kilometres from the company’s existing Fekola Mine.
The permit brings to a close a lengthy approval process that had become increasingly important to B2Gold’s production plans.
The company said discussions with the Malian authorities had continued since July 2025 and followed a September 2024 agreement with the government covering the operation and governance of the wider Fekola Complex.
Bamako takes bigger share
The ownership structure is arguably the more significant part of the development.
B2Gold’s existing Fekola Mine remains governed by Mali’s 2012 Mining Code and is owned 80 percent by the Canadian company and 20 percent by the Malian state.
Fekola Regional, however, falls under the 2023 Mining Code and will be owned 65 percent by B2Gold and 35 percent by Mali, according to the company’s permit announcement.
That difference provides a clear illustration of the changing economics of foreign mining investment in Mali.
Bamako has spent several years seeking a larger national return from gold production through greater state participation, revised fiscal arrangements and tougher enforcement of mining obligations. Africa Briefing has reported how gold companies have adjusted to Mali’s new mining code as the government increases its influence over the sector.
The Menankoto decision therefore offers an important counterpoint to concerns that Mali’s resource-nationalist policies could simply drive international miners away.
B2Gold has accepted the new ownership framework and is proceeding with the expansion.
Permit ends costly production delay
The approval also removes an operational bottleneck that had already affected B2Gold’s 2026 forecasts.
One day before the permit was issued, B2Gold cut expected 2026 production from the Fekola Complex to between 390,000 and 420,000 ounces, from an earlier range of 410,000 to 460,000 ounces.
The company said the largest change was linked to delays in obtaining the Menankoto permit, which prevented planned production from Fekola Regional from beginning on schedule.
The delays also led B2Gold to accelerate mining at the existing Fekola open pit, contributing to higher mining costs during the second quarter.
With the permit secured, B2Gold said mining pre-stripping activities and work to finalise a tolling agreement would begin, clearing the way for ore from the regional deposits to enter the wider Fekola production system.
150,000 ounces targeted from 2028
Fekola Regional is expected to ramp up through the end of 2027 before producing more than 150,000 ounces of gold annually from 2028 through the mid-2030s, according to B2Gold’s current projections.
Those forecasts remain forward-looking and depend on development schedules, operating conditions, costs and other mining risks.
The company nevertheless considers the regional deposits crucial to extending Fekola’s operating future. B2Gold President and Chief Executive Mike Cinnamond said the permit could help secure the future of the complex into the late 2030s.
B2Gold also said its total investment across Mali since 2014 exceeds $2bn.
That figure is important because it refers to cumulative investment across the company’s Malian operations rather than spending specifically on the Menankoto project.
The miner says it employs more than 3,300 people in Mali, about 98 percent of them Malian nationals.
A new mining bargain takes shape
For Mali, the agreement reinforces a wider strategy of extracting more value from one of the country’s most important industries while keeping major gold projects operating.
The government has increasingly sought to channel mining income into national development. Africa Briefing reported that a financing mechanism established under the reforms had raised CFA109.14bn ($191.6m) by June 30, as Bamako pursued mining-backed infrastructure projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
The B2Gold agreement suggests the emerging model may be less about excluding international miners than changing the terms on which they operate.
That makes Menankoto more than another gold permit. It is an early test of whether Mali can simultaneously increase state participation, maintain foreign investment and sustain production from an industry central to government revenues and exports.
For B2Gold, the new framework means operating Fekola Regional with a smaller ownership share than at the existing Fekola Mine, but with the permit needed to extend production well into the next decade.
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