Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corp. has long been one of the largest, most recognizable names in Canada’s sizeable mining industry, but its ties to the country are narrowing, especially now that its longtime rival, Colorado’s Newmont Corp., is closing in on a US$17-billion purchase of Australia’s Newcrest Mining Ltd.
All three companies are global in scale — the first, second and fourth largest gold miners in the world — but when it comes to Canada, home to some of the richest gold belts globally, only Barrick lacks a significant presence.
Newcrest, on the other hand, owns Brucejack — a high-grade underground mine in British Columbia’s Golden Triangle that consistently produces more than 300,000 ounces of gold per year — which many analysts have pegged as Barrick’s best potential acquisition target if it is to grow its presence in Canada.
Instead, it appears that Newmont, which is already building a presence in B.C., will gain control of Brucejack, leaving Barrick with only one mine in Canada: Hemlo, a once-formidable Ontario mine whose production has dropped steeply in recent years.
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