(Ecofin Agency) - Mali’s ministry of mines declared last Tuesday that in 2016 the country’s mining revenues increased by 1% to FCFA247 billion ($454 million). According to details released by Reuters, these revenues include 163.79 billion of taxes, 46.62 billion of custom fees, and 36.88 billion in dividends and others. 

According to Mamadou Sidibé, deputy director of the statistics and planning office at the ministry of mines, the increase in revenues collected from mining firms was mainly due to a surge of about 8.5% of gold’s price, which is the main ore the country produces. It has indeed compensated the drop in exported volumes (which slumped to 67 tonnes) and an output that rose only slightly.

Mali which for many years was Africa’s leading gold producer recently lost its place to Sudan, according to a report released at the beginning of the year by the World Bank. The country nevertheless still counts as companies active in its mining industry giants such as Randgold Resources, AngloFold Ashanti and Resoulting Mining. 

Louis-Nino Kansoun