Canada's Barrick Gold said on Monday it would suspend operations in Mali if the country does not lift restrictions on gold shipments within the coming week, as the mining group faces what sources told Reuters amounted to a confiscation order.

Major miner Barrick Gold (TSX:ABX,NYSE:GOLD) remains unable to export gold from its Loulo-Gounkoto mining complex in Mali due to ongoing restrictions imposed by the country's government. In a Monday (January 6) press release,

Barrick Gold Corp. said it will have to halt mining in Mali soon if the government doesn’t stop disrupting exports and operations at its mine.

Barrick Gold threatens to temporarily suspend operations at Loulo-Gounkoto mine in Mali over dispute with government.

Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) (TSX:ABX) is facing mounting challenges at its Loulo-Gounkoto mining complex in Mali, as the country has extended its ban on exporting gold to include the site’s on-hand stock of the precious metal.

Canada's Barrick Gold said on Monday that it will be forced to temporarily suspend operations at its Loulo-Gounkoto mining complex in Mali in the coming weeks following fresh shipping restrictions. The company said an interim attachment order has been issued against the existing gold stock at its Loulo-Gounkoto mining complex in Mali,

The standoff in Mali, coupled with threats by Burkina Faso's military junta to revoke mining permits and the seizure of a French-operated uranium site in Niger, has raised concerns among Western mining companies.

Barrick Gold Corp. says if its inability to ship gold from its Loulo-Gounkoto mine in Mali is not resolved within the coming week it will have to temporarily suspend operations at the mine.