Industrial gold production in Mali, one of Africa‘s top producers of the precious metal, is expected to reach or even exceed its 67.7 t forecast for 2023, according to a mines ministry official.
Gold production from mines, mainly owned by Barrick Gold, B2Gold, Resolute Mining, Allied Gold and Endeavour Mining, stood at 45.4 t at the end of August, surpassing the initial forecast of 43 t, Mamadou Sidibe, head of the mines ministry’s statistics department, told Reuters.
He now expects annual production to reach its forecast of 67.7 t or grow further to 68.2 t.
“If this trend continues, we believe that the 2023 forecasts will be reached, or even exceeded,” Sidibe said, adding that strong production was usually expected during the fourth quarter of the year.
Mali’s industrial gold production in 2022 totalled 66.2 t.