BAMAKO, Nov 10, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Three expat executives from Australian company Resolute Mining, which owns a gold mine in Mali, have been detained for questioning, industry and judiciary sources told AFP on Saturday.

It is the second time in just over a month that employees of a foreign mining firm have been detained in Mali, as the ruling military junta seeks greater control over the lucrative sector.

The Resolute executives were arrested on Friday at a hotel in the capital, Bamako, and taken to a specialised unit set up by the junta to tackle corruption, and economic or financial crimes, the judiciary source said.

They are being questioned over suspicions of false evidence and misappropriation of public goods, said a Resolute executive on condition of anonymity.

He denied the allegations but said attempts to convince the investigators had failed so far.

A spokesperson for the company said it had "no comment".

Resolute holds 80 percent of a subsidiary that owns the northwestern mine of Syama, with the Malian state controlling the remaining 20 percent, according to the firm's website.

Resolute also owns a gold production site in Mako in neighbouring Senegal, and has other exploration operations in Mali, Senegal and Guinea.

Australian officials are in regular contact with mining companies that operate in West Africa, but are not providing direct consulate assistance on the matter.

Since seizing power, Mali's leaders have vowed to ensure a more equitable distribution of mining revenues.

Despite being one of the leading gold producers in Africa, the Sahel nation is also one of the poorest countries in the world.

Mali is embroiled in a political, security and economic crisis, and since 2012 has been battling Al-Qaeda and Islamic State armed groups, as well as a separatist insurgency in the north.

Gold contributes a quarter of the national budget and three quarters of export earnings.

Foreign companies, which dominate the mining sector, have recently faced tighter control by the junta.

Four employees of Canadian mining company Barrick Gold in Mali were detained for several days in September before being released.

Barrick Gold said it has reached an agreement with the state and paid 50 billion CFA Francs ($81 million) in October.

But the government in late October said Barrick Gold had not honoured its commitments and threatened to pursue the firm.

After the 2021 coup, Bamako broke off relations with former colonial ruler France, which had been helping to fight jihadist insurgents in the north, and turned to Russia for political and military assistance.