Group were held after a meeting about what mining company referred to as unsubstantiated claims regarding taxes and levies

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A Perth-headquartered goldminer has agreed to give $A247m – more than its entire cash reserves – to the government of Mali after its chief executive and two other employees were detained by authorities in the West African country.

Resolute Mining CEO Terence Holohan and the other two employees were unexpectedly detained on 8 November in Mali’s capital of Bamako, at the conclusion of a meeting with government mining and tax officials.