Mali's military government is holding gold seized from Barrick Gold's Loulo-Gounkoto mine site at state-owned Banque Malienne de Solidarite (BMS), two sources said, as the miner pursues plans to suspend its operations in the country.

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.

Mali’s military government has started seizing gold stocks of the Canadian mining company Barrick as part of a legal battle over the share of revenue owed to the West African state, according to an internal Barrick letter seen by The Associated Press.

Canadian miner Barrick Gold said it will have to suspend mining operations in Mali after the government seized gold stocks from the company's Loulo-Gounkoto complex and flew them out by helicopter over the weekend.

Mali’s military junta started executing an interim order to seize gold at a mine run by Barrick Gold Corp., escalating a dispute over the West African government’s share of revenues from the project.

By Portia Crowe, Divya Rajagopal and Giulia Paravicini DAKAR (Reuters) -Mali began flying gold out of Canadian miner Barrick Gold's Loulo-Gounkoto complex by helicopter on Saturday, four sources close to the situation said,

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.

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.

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.

Barrick Gold is suspending mining operations in Mali after the government seized gold stockpiles and issued an arrest warrant for Barrick's CEO. Bloomberg's William Clowes reports from Johannesburg. (