Last checked at 
BAMAKO, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Mali's industrial gold production was 66.2 tonnes in 2022, around 4.4% higher than the previous year due to improved performance in the sector, a mines ministry official said on Thursday.
Mali is one of Africa's top gold producers and home to industrial mines operated by companies including Barrick Gold , B2Gold Corp, Resolute Mining, AngloGold Ashanti and Hummingbird Resources.
Output has increased due to better performance in existing mines, particularly at Allied Gold Corp's Sadiola mine, Mamadou Sidibe, head of the mines ministry's statistics department, told Reuters.
Sadiola produced 6.6 tonnes of gold in 2022 compared with 3.4 tonnes in 2021, he said.
Barrick Gold remains the country's biggest producer with output reaching 23 tonnes last year, followed by B2Gold with 19.4 tonnes and Resolute Mining with 6.6 tonnes, he added.
With an estimated 6 tonnes produced in artisanal mines, Mali's total gold production last year was 72.2 tonnes, Sidibe said, compared with 69.4 tonnes in 2021. (Reporting by Tiemoko Diallo Editing by Sofia Christensen, Kirsten Donovan)
