The place is Cape Town on 5 February during the Mining Indaba conference. Mark Bristow, then head of the Canadian mining giant Barrick, has welcomed industry executives and officials to a large colonial-style villa perched atop a hill overlooking the city. Two chairs are empty and the host, true to his reputation as a straight-talker, cites the absentees by name: Malian Finance Minister Alousséni Sanou, and his colleague Mines Minister Amadou Keïta.
General Assimi Goïta's junta did not send representatives
