Mamou Toure and Samba Toure, key members of the government's negotiating team, both used to work in Mali for Randgold, a mining company that is now part of Barrick.

Mali's military-led government, which in December seized three metric tons of gold from Barrick worth about $245 million, has given the miner until Saturday at midnight to respond to its demands.

It wants Barrick to pay $199 million in back taxes, according to a source familiar with the situation.

If a deal is finalised, Mali would return the seized gold and release four Barrick executives detained since late November, the source said.

--Reuters--