Barrick Gold Corporation – Page 10

Barrick progressing towards modern miner goal – by Simone Liedtke (MiningWeekly.com – April 6, 2020)

April 6, 2020

https://www.miningweekly.com/

Following its merger with Randgold Resources, NYSE- and TSX-listed Barrick Gold has made progress towards its goal of being a modern mining business, according to executive chairperson John Thornton in the company’s information circular for 2020 published on April 6.

The circular follows the recent publication of Barrick’s 2019 annual report, in which president and CE Mark Bristow said the work done during the past year had equipped management well to take Barrick to the next level.

Included in the report is Barrick’s ten-year production plan which projects production of around five-million ounces of gold a year over the next decade.

Barrick unveils 10-year plan to become world’s most valued gold miner – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – March 26, 2020)

March 27, 2020

https://www.mining.com/

Barrick Gold (TSX: ABX) (NYSE: GOLD), the world’s second largest gold miner, has unveiled a 10-year production plan aimed at becoming the most valued bullion company.

The strategy, outlined in its first annual report since its merger with Randgold Resources, includes boosting Barrick’s production to about 5 million ounces of gold a year, with the bulk coming from its North American operations.

President and chief executive officer, Mark Bristow, said Nevada Gold Mines — its recent joint venture with Newmont (NYSE: NEM) — would be the “value foundation” of its business moving forward.

Barrick Gold extends life of Argentina mine (Resource World – March 17, 2020)

March 18, 2020

https://resourceworld.com/

Barrick Gold Corp. [ABX-TSX; GOLD-NYSE] President and CEO Mark Bristow said the life of Barrick’s Veladero gold mine in Argentina has been extended to at least 10 years following a comprehensive review of the company’s strategy and business plan.

Bristow made the comments while briefing an Argentinian audience of local media, government authorities and local business and community leaders about the mine’s progress from Barrick’s offices in Chile. The briefing was broadcast via a video conference to comply with Covid-19 related travel restrictions imposed by Argentina.

“Our review included the reinterpretation of the mine’s geology and an ongoing infill drilling campaign,” Bristow said. “We established exploration and resource management teams to identify satellite orebodies with the potential to deliver an increase in resources and reserves,” he said. “Our aim is to extend Veladero’s life-of-mine beyond 2030 and elevate it to a Tier One asset.”

Australian mine contractor moves into Hemlo – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – March 9, 2020)

March 12, 2020

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Western Australian mining interests have been steadily scooping up gold exploration properties in northwestern Ontario. One company is mobilizing to run an underground gold mine in the region. Perth-headquartered Barminco has signed a letter of intent with Barrick to provide underground contract mining at its Hemlo Mine, near Marathon.

Barminco bills itself as one of the world’s largest hard rock underground mining services companies in the world with operations in Australia, Asia and Africa. This would be the company’s first foray into Canada, starting in April.

Under the three-year, $200-million mining services contract, Barminco’s scope of work would involve mine development, production and haulage, and using mine equipment provided by Barrick.

Barrick issues cease and desist notice to AJN over Kibali stake purchase – by Hereward Holland, Jeff Lewis and Helen Reid (Reuters Canada – February 26, 2020)

February 26, 2020

https://ca.reuters.com/

KINSHASA/TORONTO/JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Barrick Gold, the operator of Congo’s biggest gold mine, has issued a cease and desist notice to junior miner AJN Resources as it moves to block its acquisition of a 10% stake in the project, which it says the deal undervalues.

Barrick and AngloGold Ashanti, which each own 45% of the Kibali mine, said they had not been consulted about the acquisition even though the stake’s owner Societe Miniere de Kilo-Moto (SOKIMO) may not transfer or sell its Kibali shares without their approval.

The two companies and the chair of state-owned SOKIMO say AJN’s planned acquisition was prematurely announced to the market, without notifying stakeholders or securing approval from SOKIMO’s board.

Freeport’s Adkerson does not want to sell Grasberg mine to Barrick – by Jeff Lewis (Reuters U.S. – February 24, 2020)

February 25, 2020

https://www.reuters.com/

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (Reuters) – Freeport McMoRan Inc (FCX.N) is not interested in selling its Grasberg copper and gold mine in Indonesia, Chief Executive Richard Adkerson said on Monday, tamping down speculation of a deal with Canadian miner Barrick Gold Corp (ABX.TO).

Barrick CEO Mark Bristow in recent weeks has expressed interest in buying Grasberg. Earlier this month Bristow said he sees no competition for the asset from global or state-backed Chinese miners.

That back and forth from two of the mining industry’s most-powerful executives comes as investors are expecting a wave of buyouts this year, especially for copper assets.

M&A deals reshape Canadian mining landscape – by Kelsey Rolfe (Northern Miner – February 19, 2020)

February 20, 2020

https://www.northernminer.com/

The flurry of M&A transactions last year brought a much-awaited consolidation of the global gold sector. It also brought significant changes to the Canadian mining landscape:

Newmont’s (NYSE: NEM) takeover of Goldcorp wiped a major Canadian firm off the board, and Barrick Gold (TSX: ABX; NYSE: GOLD), while still Canadian, has undeniably shifted its focus away from the country, with few executives remaining in its Toronto headquarters and only one Canadian mine.

Those headline-making deals have prompted concerns that Canada’s influence in the global gold mining sector is waning. Franco-Nevada (TSX: FNV; NYSE: FNV) Chairman Pierre Lassonde said in an interview with BNN Bloomberg in January 2019 that Barrick’s smaller footprint in Canada was the same kind of diminishment of the country’s mining sector that Barrick founder Peter Munk had decried.

Barrick CEO says younger generation desperately needed to rejuvenate ‘dinosaur’ gold industry – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – February 13, 2020)

February 13, 2020

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Mark Bristow, the chief executive officer of Barrick Gold Corp., says the gold sector is in desperate need of fresh young blood to rejuvenate what has become a “dinosaur” industry.

“The industry needs to grow and be more relevant,” Mr. Bristow said in an interview in Toronto, after the release of the company’s fourth-quarter financial results. Mr. Bristow stressed the need for mining companies to both attract younger employees with fresh ideas, and a sprier set of investors.

Attending the annual Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) conference – one of the industry’s premier events – Mr. Bristow said, is like “walking into an old age home.”

Barrick Gold denies Freeport-McMoran tie-up in the works – by Helen Reid (Reuters U.S. – February 6, 2020)

February 6, 2020

https://www.reuters.com/

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – Barrick Gold is not looking to merge with copper miner Freeport-McMoran, CEO Mark Bristow said on Thursday, although he is interested in the company’s Grasberg mine in Indonesia, and indicated he wants to expand in the Pacific Rim.

Rumors the world’s second-largest gold miner planned to combine with Freeport are “completely wrong”, Bristow told Reuters on the sidelines of the Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town.

But he said he was interested in Freeport’s Grasberg mine in Indonesia – the world’s largest gold mine, and second-largest copper mine. “People say, are you interested in Grasberg? I say I have to be, it’s a tier one asset,” he said. Tier one assets refer to high-grade, long-life mines.

Barrick Gold chief hits out at fund managers over new-found ESG focus – by Neil Hume (Financial Times – February 4, 2020)

February 4, 2020

https://www.ft.com/

Mark Bristow says industry has ‘suddenly discovered’ benefits of ethical investing

Mark Bristow, the tough talking boss of Barrick Gold, has lashed out at the fund management industry and its new-found focus on social and ethical investing.

Speaking at a major mining event in Cape Town, Mr Bristow questioned why some of the most profit hungry asset managers in the world were now refusing to invest in businesses that do not have satisfactory environmental, social and governance criteria.

“Even late capitalism’s supposedly unvarnished practitioners have suddenly discovered the merits of a social conscience and are now saying they won’t invest in a business that doesn’t have a satisfactory ESG,” Mr Bristow told the Investing in Africa Mining Indaba in Cape Town.

FP Dealmakers: Inside Barrick’s attempt to gatecrash Newmont and Goldcorp’s party – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – January 30, 2020)

January 30, 2020

https://business.financialpost.com/

FP Dealmakers: One question that remains for 2020, and beyond is what effect the expected consolidation will have on Canada’s mining sector

All through the holidays, Rick McCreary kept disappearing from his family, hopping on conference calls for long stretches without explaining what was going on. So it goes for a deputy chair of investment banking at TD Securities when a major merger is in the works.

In this case, it was between December 2018 and January 2019, and McCreary was advising Vancouver’s Goldcorp Inc. on its US$10-billion acquisition by Colorado-based Newmont Mining Inc., one that triggered a wave of other deals, and only closed after a series of bumps almost derailed it entirely.

“Honestly, it was the most stressful one I’ve worked on,” said McCreary. For McCreary, it carried a strong emotional weight because of the long and tangled history of the companies and people who worked on it.

Barrick Gold chief looks to next deal after first year at helm – by Neil Hume (Financial Post – January 27, 2020)

January 29, 2020

https://www.ft.com/

A tough-talking South African on a mission to shake up the mining industry. For years the name that would have sprung to mind was Glencore boss Ivan Glasenberg, but not any more. The sector has another swashbuckling executive to watch: Mark Bristow, head of Barrick Gold.

Since the geologist took control of the world’s second-biggest gold miner just over a year ago he has been a whirlwind of activity. Highlights of the past 12 months include a hostile bid for its arch rival — now a partner in a joint venture — a buyout of struggling subsidiary Acacia Mining and more than $1bn of asset sales.

But this is just the beginning for 61-year-old Mr Bristow, an adrenalin junkie who enjoys big game hunting and flying planes. “It has been an amazing year,” he said during a wide-ranging interview. “We now have a solid foundation to build on and probably the strongest balance sheet in the gold industry.”

Barrick to sell gold worth up to $280 million as export ban lifted – by Zandi Shabalala (Reuters U.S. – January 27, 2020)

January 28, 2020

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – Barrick Gold will start to ship gold worth up to $280 million from Tanzania, chief executive Mark Bristow said on Monday, after the government lifted an export ban following the resolution of a three-year tax dispute.

The world’s second-largest gold miner signed a deal on Friday with Tanzania’s government, ending a row that dated back to when Acacia Mining ran the Tanzanian operations. Barrick fully acquired Acacia last year.

“The shipments will start immediately and, as we speak, we are mobilising the concentrates,” Mark Bristow told Reuters in a telephone interview.

Barrick claims it’s back to business in Tanzania, but questions remain – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – January 25, 2020)

January 27, 2020

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Barrick has finalized an agreement to end an almost three-year dispute with the east African country of Tanzania that had sidelined a significant portion of its African gold production and cast a shadow on its share price.

On Friday, Mark Bristow, Barrick Gold Corp.’s chief executive, attended a public signing ceremony in Tanzania’s biggest city, Dar es Salaam, alongside Tanzanian President John Magufuli and Doto Biteko, Minister of Minerals. The event set in stone a preliminary agreement announced in October.

In a speech broadcast on Tanzanian television, Mr. Bristow described the effort to reach agreement as a “long safari,” referencing the Swahili word for journey. “Today we started a new partnership,” the South African-born Mr. Bristow said.