Barrick maintains forecasts ahead of Randgold vote – by Susan Taylor (Reuters U.S. – October 10, 2018)

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TORONTO (Reuters) – Canada’s Barrick Gold Corp, which recently announced a $6.1 billion deal to acquire Randgold Resources Ltd, affirmed its 2018 gold and copper production forecast on Wednesday, reflecting improvements in operations.

Citing preliminary data, Barrick said its 2018 effective tax rate was expected at about 48 to 50 percent, up from a previous forecast of 44 to 46 percent, because of lower-than-expected sales from lower-tax mines. More details are expected when it reports quarterly results on Oct. 24.

In the third quarter, Barrick said it sold 1.2 million ounces of gold and 114 million pounds of copper, and produced 1.15 million ounces of gold and 106 million pounds of copper.

Gold production was about 8 percent higher than in the second quarter, while all-in-sustaining costs, a closely watched industry benchmark, were about 7 to 9 percent lower.

Third-quarter copper output was up 28 percent from the second quarter, Barrick said, largely reflecting gains at the Lumwana mine in Zambia. All-in-sustaining costs are expected to be 10 to 12 percent lower than in the previous quarter.

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