Mali news (2 days ago), via the ISW web site (Institute for the Study of War).
Africa File, April 4, 2024: Mali and Russia Explore Mali’s Mineral Wealth.
Authors: Liam Karr, Matthew Gianitsos
Mali. The Malian junta is increasing cooperation with Russia to boost its gold, oil, gas, lithium, and uranium production to bolster its energy independence and boost state revenue. These economic projects benefit the Kremlin by securing access to a cut of the resources, which it can use to circumvent Western punitive measures, such as sanctions.
Mali and Russia are increasingly cooperating on mineral extraction to boost both countries’ revenues. Russian companies have made several road-map agreements with Mali for gold refinery construction, geological mapping, and civil nuclear power cooperation since March 25. The Malian and Russian governments also signed several cooperation agreements on oil, gas, uranium, and lithium production on March 31. The signing of these cooperation agreements is a step forward in implementing several memoranda of understanding and high-level discussions held between the two countries in 2023 and 2024.
The Malian junta likely seeks to capitalize on its increased presence in resource-rich regions of northern Mali after expanding into the area with the help of the Wagner Group in the last quarter of 2023. The Malian army and its Wagner partners retook rebel-held areas in northern Mali in October and November 2023. This offensive improved its access to unregulated artisanal gold mines that were previously under rebel control and put them closer to unexplored oil, gas, and uranium deposits. Malian and Wagner forces in early February 2024 briefly occupied the Intahaka gold mine, which is the largest artisanal mine in northern Mali. Locals claimed that the mercenaries charged entrance fees and carried out some gold mining operations before withdrawing.
Mali and Russia are increasingly cooperating on mineral extraction to boost both countries’ revenues. Russian companies have made several road-map agreements with Mali for gold refinery construction, geological mapping, and civil nuclear power cooperation since March 25. The Malian and Russian governments also signed several cooperation agreements on oil, gas, uranium, and lithium production on March 31.[2] The signing of these cooperation agreements is a step forward in implementing several memoranda of understanding and high-level discussions held between the two countries in 2023 and 2024.
The Malian junta likely seeks to capitalize on its increased presence in resource-rich regions of northern Mali after expanding into the area with the help of the Wagner Group in the last quarter of 2023. The Malian army and its Wagner partners retook rebel-held areas in northern Mali in October and November 2023. This offensive improved its access to unregulated artisanal gold mines that were previously under rebel control and put them closer to unexplored oil, gas, and uranium deposits. Malian and Wagner forces in early February 2024 briefly occupied the Intahaka gold mine, which is the largest artisanal mine in northern Mali.[6] Locals claimed that the mercenaries charged entrance fees and carried out some gold mining operations before withdrawing
Mali aims to secure energy independence and boost state revenue through resource development projects. Mali’s government has emphasized its desire to achieve energy independence through increased production of its natural resources and rewrote its mining code in 2023 to this end.[20] Mali has directly used tax revenue from gold mining to finance Wagner mercenaries, underscoring how this revenue boost helps fund the junta’s defense budget.
Mali-Russia cooperation on resource extraction additionally grants the Malian junta greater regime security support from Russia in exchange for a share of the resources, which helps the Kremlin mitigate Western punitive measures. Russia has offered Mali and other authoritarian African governments “regime survival packages” that involve security and political support in exchange for access to strategically important and valuable natural resources. Russia has repeatedly sought to gain access to such resources—primarily gold—from its partnerships with African countries to mitigate the effect of Western sanctions. The Kremlin’s pursuit for uranium also aims to increase its grip on the nuclear energy market to improve its leverage with countries seeking to cut Russian gas purchases. The various Russian mercenary contingents across Africa implement this strategy by providing a degree of regime security and securing access to these resources either directly or through political arrangements.
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