By Divya Rajagopal

TORONTO (Reuters) – Barrick CEO Mark Bristow said the miner is spending $15 million a month to keep its Mali mine running, and that he does not know where the government is keeping the gold that it confiscated from the company.

Speaking in an interview about the long-running conflict with Mali authorities, Bristow said the government walked back on an agreement three times, and called the jailing of Barrick employees in the country a human rights violation.

(Reporting by Divya Rajagopal, Writing by Daina Beth Solomon)