Authorities in Mali have arrested four senior employees of a Canadian mining company as the military regime in the West African nation continues to detain workers to pressure companies in its crucial mining sector to pay millions in additional taxes.

Barrick Gold in a statement Tuesday  confirmed that four employees at its Loulo-Gounkoto mining complex had been charged and awaited trial after their arrests Monday evening.

The company said it rejects the charges but did not say what they were. Malian authorities refused to comment on the arrests.

The same Barrick Gold employees also were briefly taken into custody in September. Barrick Gold says it has been seeking to finalize an agreement that would guide its partnership with Mali’s government, including the state’s share of the economic benefits generated by the mining site and the “legal framework under which this would be managed.”

In Tuesday’s statement, Barrick Gold CEO Mark Bristow said that “attempts to find a mutually acceptable resolution have so far been unsuccessful, but we remain committed to engage with the government in order to resolve all the claims levied against the company and its employees and secure the early release of our unjustly imprisoned colleagues.”

Growing pressure on foreign mining companies

Earlier this month, the CEO of Australian company Resolute Mining and two employees were arrested in Mali’s capital, Bamako. They were released after the company paid $80 million to Malian authorities to resolve a tax dispute and promised to pay a further $80 million in the coming months.

Mali is one of Africa’s leading gold producers, but it has struggled for years with jihadi violence and high levels of poverty and hunger. The military seized power in 2020, and the regime has placed foreign mining companies under growing pressure as it seeks to shore up government revenues.

“Mali is likely to continue to using detentions, arrests and even charges against mining executives to compel foreign-owned companies to comply with new regulations and generate short-term funds,” Beverly Ochieng, an analyst at the Control Risks Group consulting firm, told The Associated Press.

“These regulations are currently being applied retroactively, which is likely to increase regulatory disputes and make the mining sector challenging and unpredictable for Western companies,” Ochieng added.

Last year, Mali’s military authorities carried out an audit of the mining sector before drawing up a new mining code this year. In August, authorities set up a commission to negotiate with mining companies over what the government says they owe according to the audit.

Ochieng said the government’s audit has not been transparent and the new mining code gives Mali’s authorities a greater share.

Earlier this year, Canadian mining companies B2Gold and Allied Gold accepted the demands, making payments to authorities and agreeing to the new mining code.