Canada’s Barrick Gold has suspended operations in Mali after the government seized gold from the company in an escalation of a dispute between the military junta and international mining groups.

Canada's Barrick Gold on Tuesday confirmed it had suspended operations in Mali and that the government had moved gold stock from the miner's Loulo-Gounkoto site to a bank. Reuters reported on Monday that the authorities had seized gold worth $245 million in an escalation of their long-running dispute with the company.

The Canadian miner confirmed Tuesday that Mali’s military junta had begun seizing gold at the Loulo-Gounkoto mining complex in an escalating tax dispute