Big Gold’s next big problem: How to pump up production with the commodity on the cusp of a new rally – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – November 7, 2020)

https://financialpost.com/

Every three to four days, Barrick Gold Corp.’s chief executive Mark Bristow sits for a COVID-19 test. While the global health pandemic has triggered tough decisions for many executives about whether to work from home or return to the office, Bristow has maintained a rigorous schedule.

In recent months, he’s touched down in Papua New Guinea, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, the Dominican Republic, Nevada and various other countries where the company operates mines.

Later this month he expects to stop in Canada — where the Toronto-headquartered company operates a single mine in Ontario — despite mandatory 14-day quarantine rules for jet-setters like himself.

“These flipping Canadians are still locking us down for 14 days,” he told the Financial Post this week after delivering third-quarter results. But he added, “We’re hustling … how do you like those results?”

With gold selling near an all-time high above US$1,900 per ounce, Barrick posted a record US$1.3 billion free cash flow in the third quarter, increased its dividend and paid down hundreds of millions of dollars in debt.

For the rest of this article: https://financialpost.com/commodities/mining/big-golds-next-big-problem-how-to-pump-up-production-with-the-commodity-on-the-cusp-of-a-new-rally