* Mali's industrial production of gold rose 23 percent last year to 60.8 tonnes, Mines Ministry spokesman Boubacar Sissoko said on Friday.
* In March, the mines ministry said output would rise in 2018 primarily due to the start of production at B2Gold's Fekola and Hummingbird Resources' Komana mines.
* Mamadou Sidibe, deputy director of the government's Cell for Planning and Statistics, said output is expected to rise again in 2019, mainly boosted by Resolute Mining's Syama deposit, which started production last year. He did not give a specific figure.
(Reporting by Tiemoko Diallo; Writing by Sofia Christensen; Editing by Susan Fenton)