BAMAKO, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Mali's industrial gold production plunged 23% to 51 metric tons last year from 66.5 tons in 2023, the West African country's mines ministry said.

Mali is one of Africa's top gold producers and home to industrial mines operated by international companies including Barrick Gold ABX.TO, B2Gold Corp BTO.TO, Resolute Mining RSG.AX and Hummingbird Resources HUMR.L.

A ministry document showed on Friday that the output number excludes Barrick Gold's ABX.TO December production following the company's dispute with Mali's military-led government related to a mining law introduced in 2023.

Barrick suspended operations at its Loulo-Gounkoto operation last month after authorities seized its gold reserves by helicopter. Four of its employees have been detained since November on charges including money laundering and financing of terrorism, which the company denies.

Mali's new mining code, which raises taxes and seeks to hand over big stakes in assets to the state, makes it uneconomic to invest in new mines or buy operations in the country, several mining chief executives told Reuters this week.

Mali's government says mining companies including Barrick have not been paying their fair share of taxes.

According to the ministry document, Mali's gold production fell below 60 tons for the first time in over three years.

It would stand at 52.7 tons if Barrick met its December forecast of 1.7 tons, the ministry's monthly estimates showed.

The ministry did not provide an explanation for the drop in production.

An official from the mines ministry told Reuters the government's conflict with mining companies could be the reason for the lower output. The sector faces a crisis of confidence after authorities demanded foreign companies migrate to the new mining code and arrested employees and executives, the official added.

According to the ministry's data, Barrick Gold remains the country's biggest gold producer, with an output of 19.4 tons in 2024 excluding December production, followed by B2Gold at 13.7 tons and Resolute Mining at 7.2 tons.

With an estimated 6 tons produced in artisanal mines, Mali's total gold production in 2024 is expected to reach 58.7 tons, the mines ministry said.

(Reporting by Tiemoko Diallo. Writing by Anait Miridzhanian. Editing by Portia Crowe and Mark Potter)

((Anait.Miridzhanian@thomsonreuters.com;))