The three men were arrested earlier this month after travelling to the capital Bamako for what they thought were routine negotiations with the ruling junta. Instead, British chief executive Terence Holohan and two of his colleagues were “unexpectedly detained” for questioning.

Resolute said it would pay the Malian government $80 million (€75 million) from “existing cash reserves”, with a further payment of $80 million in the “coming months”.

Since seizing power, Mali’s leaders have vowed to claw back gold mining revenues from foreign companies operating in the country. […] Gold contributes a quarter of the national budget and three-quarters of export earnings.

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

The arrest of the Resolute team came soon after four employees at another foreign mining firm, Canadian company Barrick Gold, were detained in Mali for several days in September before being released…Barrick Gold said it had reached an agreement with the state and in October paid 50 billion CFA Francs (€76 million).