VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – The world’s largest gold producer by output Barrick Gold is looking towards a more sustainable future based on a leaner, more tightly owned portfolio, with future growth increasingly hinging on forming synergistic partnerships with former mining rivals.
With the gold price off to a strong start in the first few weeks of 2018, up 2.32% since the start of the year and trending above the psychological $1 300/oz mark, Barrick president Kelvin Dushnisky told attendees at a Vancouver mining conference that the company had come full circle in the aftermath following gold’s historic bull run through the 2011s.
He recounted those years as ranking among the most difficult in the gold major’s history. “It was partnerships that laid the foundation for Barrick. Partnership has been at the heart of our culture from Barrick’s earliest days, personified by visionary entrepreneur Peter Munk, and operations manager Bob Smith,” he said.
Barrick grew at a breakneck pace at the height of the commodity super cycle to become the largest gold miner, with 27 active mines in its portfolio.
“But the unprecedented super cycle prompted us to focus on growth at all cost, and we lost some of our founding principles and discipline and made some ill-timed acquisitions. We forgot who we were for a time and what made us successful,” Dushnisky said.
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