Canada's Barrick Mining had its Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex in Mali placed under state control by a court on Monday in a major escalation of a dispute over taxes and ownership. A former Malian health minister, Soumana Makadji, will take over as provisional administrator for six months, the presiding judge said. Barrick said it will appeal the decision. The move follows actions by the Malian government to block gold exports and seize gold stocks held by Barrick’s subsidiaries. Barrick in a statement said it believes those actions, which led to the temporary suspension of its operations, were unjustified. "Justice was ... (full story)