Barrick Gold Corporation has halted its operations in Mali after the government seized gold stocks worth $245 million Cdn from the company's Loulo-Gounkoto complex.

An ongoing dispute over ownership stakes in Barrick’s operation in Mali has led to the arrest of mining officials, the government’s gold seizure and the company’s shutdown of its mine.

About 3 metric tons of gold seized from Canadian miner Barrick Gold's Loulo-Gounkoto mining complex in Mali is now being held at state-owned Banque Malienne de Solidarite (BMS), two sources told Reuters.