Barrick Gold Corporation – Page 14

Bristow’s masterstroke gives Barrick control of Newmont’s Nevada assets — but now he must deliver – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – March 16, 2019)

March 18, 2019

https://business.financialpost.com/

Barrick CEO Mark Bristow says investor’s poor reaction to the Newmont-Goldcorp merger created an opportunity and he pounced

One day after announcing a deal to effectively create the world’s third largest gold company, Mark Bristow, chief executive of Barrick Gold Corp., stayed in Elko, Nevada — a dry, rugged city situated near the Carlin Trend, one of the world’s richest gold mining districts — to assemble the team responsible for executing his promises.

For decades, Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corp. and its archrival Colorado-based Newmont Mining Corp., the two biggest gold mining companies in the world, have fuelled a large part of their growth through discoveries along the Carlin Trend, and tried numerous times to reach an accord to work together there.

Now, Bristow, 12 weeks into his tenure at the helm of Barrick, is holding up a joint venture agreement with Newmont to share assets in Nevada, which he claims will save both companies US$500 million per year, and billions of dollars over the long run. What’s more the deal was ramrodded through in a matter of days while Bristow proposed a $17.8 billion hostile offer to takeover all of Newmont.

The huge risks and rewards of [Barrick’s] Papua New Guinea’s Porgera gold mine – by David James (Business Advantage PNG – March 13, 2019)

March 13, 2019

https://www.businessadvantagepng.com/

The Porgera gold mine in Papua New Guinea’s Enga Province is a world class gold mine but, as Executive Director for Barrick (Niugini) Ila Temu explains, it is also one of the world’s most difficult mines to operate.

Drainage, breakdowns in the infrastructure and illegal mining are the three challenges Porgera miners and executives face.

But the rewards are also great. Despite the severe obstacles, Porgera’s production in 2017 was about 500,000 ounces of gold and 204,000 in 2018 (with production affected by the Highlands earthquake).

Barrick Gold Corporation’s new President and CEO, Mark Bristow, explained during his recent trip to Papua New Guinea that the future of the Porgera mine is considered promising. ‘When you look at the current plans of Porgera, it has the potential to be able to deliver 500,000 ounces [per annum] for the next 10 years,’ he reportedly said.

Barrick drops $18-billion hostile bid, signs Nevada joint venture with Newmont Mining – by Niall McGee and Rachelle Younglai (Globe and Mail – March 12, 2019)

March 12, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Barrick Gold Corp. and Newmont Mining Corp. have agreed to team up in a joint venture in Nevada that will see Barrick drop its hostile bid for its biggest rival and unite the world’s two biggest gold miners in one of the richest goldfields on the planet.

The accord means Colorado-based Newmont is far more likely to succeed in its efforts to buy Goldcorp Inc. and bypass Barrick as the world’s biggest gold company. Barrick’s pursuit of Newmont had threatened to derail the US$10-billion deal that was announced in January.

The Barrick-Newmont ownership split announced on Monday will be 61.5 per cent in favour of Barrick with the Toronto-based miner also named as the operator. The agreement will see gigantic mines, including Barrick’s Goldstrike and Cortez operations, along with Newmont’s Carlin, unite under one roof.

Gold Miners Don’t Quite Put a Ring on It – by Liam Denning (Bloomberg News – March 11, 2019)

March 12, 2019

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Barrick and Newmont finally strike a deal, but it won’t move the needle much.

It’s amazing what just talking it out can achieve. After a parade of insults, suspect numbers and pitch decks, Barrick Gold Corp. and Newmont Mining Corp. have agreed to a deal.

It isn’t the deal Barrick originally pushed for; namely, a hostile full takeover of its rival. Instead, they will holster their Excel models and form a partnership in the one asset anyone really cares about: their Nevada mining operations.

On balance, it looks as if Barrick got most of what it wanted. It will run the Nevada joint venture and control three of the five board seats governing it. Ownership of 61.5 percent reflects Barrick’s much bigger resource base in the region (as my colleague David Fickling laid out here), with Newmont giving ground on its earlier proposal of a 55/45 split.

Is the Barrick-Newmont joint venture a ‘stepping stone’ to a bigger deal? – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – March 12, 2019)

March 12, 2019

https://business.financialpost.com/

When asked if the venture was a prelude to something else, Barrick CEO Mark Bristow chuckled: ‘I’m not prepared to comment on that’

Barrick Gold Corp. and Newmont Mining Corp., the two largest gold producers in the world, ended their feud Monday and agreed to work together in the Nevada desert where both companies operate vast mining complexes.

Almost immediately, questions surfaced about whether it was a prelude to a larger deal between the two giants and Barrick chief executive Mark Bristow declined to rule out such an idea. Asked by one analyst whether the Nevada joint venture is merely “a stepping stone” to greater consolidation, Bristow chuckled.

“I’m not prepared to comment on that,” he said.As part of that agreement announced Monday, however, Toronto-headquartered Barrick agreed to drop its US$17.8 billion hostile bid for Colorado-headquartered Newmont and to commit to a two-year standstill that prevents further action.

Tanzania orders cleanup at Acacia gold mine, threatens closure – by Fumbuka Ng’wanakilala (Reuters U.K. – March 7, 2019)

March 11, 2019

https://uk.reuters.com/

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) – Acacia Mining Plc must halt waste water pollution at its North Mara gold mine in Tanzania by March 30 or the facility will be shut down, the country’s mining minister said on Friday.

Doto Biteko said Acacia needs to stop contaminated water seeping from a waste storage dam at the mine to nearby communities in the country’s north.

“The life of even one Tanzanian is worth more than their gold mining activities,” Biteko told Reuters. Acacia Mining said it had stopped a temporary overspill at the mine, blaming vandals for destroying sections of the pipe it uses to move waste water.

Barrick Withdraws $17.8 Billion Hostile Bid for Newmont – by Joseph Richter and Danielle Bochove (Bloomberg News – March 11, 2019)

March 11, 2019

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Barrick Gold Corp. is withdrawing its $17.8 billion hostile takeover bid for Newmont Mining Corp., with the companies opting instead to forge a joint venture around their Nevada projects.

The change came weeks after Barrick proposed an all-share offer that would have created the world’s largest gold producer. After Newmont’s board rejected the bid, Newmont Chief Executive Officer Gary Goldberg proposed the joint venture as an alternative both companies could gain from.

Barrick’s decision ends two weeks of animosity between the gold producers, and helps Newmont focus on securing shareholder approval for its previously announced offer to buy Goldcorp Inc. Newmont raised doubts about the Barrick bid from the start, saying its Goldcorp move offered better benefits.

Why Barrick wants to merge with Newmont: Gold is harder to find and mining it is more expensive – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – March 6, 2019)

March 6, 2019

https://business.financialpost.com/

Barrick Gold Corp.’s sudden expansionist desires are driven by the same concerns as the rest of the industry — it’s getting harder to find gold and more expensive to mine it, according to John McCluskey chief executive of Alamos Gold Inc.

Barrick is pursuing a $17.8-billion hostile bid for its arch rival, Newmont Mining Corp., in a deal that would combine the two largest gold companies into a firm of unparalleled size.

If successful, it would have numerous consequences for the rest of the gold industry, potentially laying the groundwork for future asset sales and consolidation, and also potentially pulling new generalist investors into the high-risk, high-reward precious metals sector.

Barrick, Newmont work toward joint-venture deal – by Niall McGee and Rachelle Younglai (Globe and Mail – March 6, 2019)

March 6, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The chief executives of Barrick Gold Corp. and Newmont Mining Corp. are working to reach agreement on a critical joint-venture deal that could stave off a high-stakes takeover battle, but deep divisions remain between the world’s largest gold producers.

Barrick CEO Mark Bristow and Newmont CEO Gary Goldberg were scheduled to meet in New York on Tuesday evening to discuss terms of a possible joint venture (JV) at their adjacent Nevada mining operations, according to a source familiar with the talks who was not authorized to speak publicly. Major shareholders of both companies are urging executives to solve long-standing disagreements over the proposal.

Newmont on Monday rejected Barrick’s US$17.8-billion all-stock, zero premium takeover offer, and instead proposed a joint-venture agreement in Nevada between the two companies. Newmont proposed an ownership split of 55 per cent in favour of Barrick with both companies sharing management responsibilities.

Newmont CEO Eager to Meet with Barrick But Not About Merger – by Danielle Bochove and Ed Hammond (Bloomberg News – March 5, 2019)

March 6, 2019

https://www.bloomberg.com/

After more than a week of tough talk firing back and forth, the leaders of the two biggest gold producers are finally coming to the table.

Newmont Mining Corp. Chief Executive Officer Gary Goldberg said he will be meeting with Barrick Gold Corp.’s Mark Bristow later Tuesday in New York to talk through their differences. However, he said in a Bloomberg TV interview that he won’t be discussing Barrick’s bid for his company, but rather Newmont’s proposal for a joint venture around the two companies’ assets in Nevada.

Goldberg said he heard from Bristow earlier and that “I’m looking forward to catching up with him later today here in New York. This will be the discussion on the joint venture with what we proposed yesterday.’’ Barrick spokeswoman Kathy du Plessis didn’t immediately have a comment.

What Humphrey Bogart Can Teach the Gold Diggers – by David Fickling (Bloomberg News – March 5, 2019)

March 5, 2019

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Barrick and Newmont have far more to gain from cooperating than bickering with each other. Here’s one way to get past their squabbles.

In the classic John Huston film “Treasure of the Sierra Madre,” a group of gold prospectors strike it rich before squandering their good fortune in a tangle of greed, distrust, murder and paranoia.

Something similar is happening to Barrick Gold Corp. and Newmont Mining Corp. in Nevada. Disagreements about how to manage and develop what’s arguably the world’s best-endowed area of gold deposits look set to ensure that both companies continue in an awkward and bad-tempered cohabitation, rather than growing rich together.

Every parent who’s dealt with siblings yelling “Mine!” at each other knows the way to end this sort of squabble: Take away the toys. As it happens, that might be a way to solve this fight.

OPINION: Newmont’s combative counterattack does not mean Barrick Gold is defeated – by Eric Reguly (Globe and Mail – March 5, 2019)

March 5, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Barrick Gold’s lunge for Newmont Mining has officially gone hostile, extremely so, with Newmont formally rejecting the Canadian company’s US$17.8-billion offer and blasting its executive chairman, John Thornton, for shabby performance. But this is not the end of the story – don’t count Barrick out just yet.

On Monday, as expected, Newmont, America’s biggest gold company, told Barrick to hit the road. Its all-share, nil-premium offer, revealed on Feb. 25, was a non-starter, Newmont said in its presentation, arguing that Newmont’s proposed US$10-billion takeover of Vancouver’s Goldcorp was less risky and would create ample value for shareholders.

Newmont and its CEO, Gary Goldberg, lashed out at both Mr. Thornton and Barrick CEO Mark Bristow, though it was Mr. Thornton, the former Goldman Sachs boss who replaced the late Peter Munk as Barrick chairman in 2014, who took the most criticism.

Barrick’s assets more ‘damaged’ than the company has disclosed: Newmont CEO – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – March 5, 2019)

March 5, 2019

https://business.financialpost.com/

Newmont Mining Corp. officially rejected a US$17.8 billion hostile bid from Barrick Gold Corp. on Monday, and its chief executive Gary Goldberg went on the offensive.

In a call with investors and an interview with the Financial Post, Goldberg questioned why Barrick has not issued guidance beyond 2019, and suggested the company’s assets are in worse shape than has been publicly disclosed.

“Barrick has a problem and that’s why they need to push this,” he told the Financial Post. The bid by Barrick, which represents an eight per cent discount to the value of Newmont’s shares on the day it was proposed, has the potential to reshape the gold mining industry by creating an estimated US$42 billion company — which would be multiple times larger than its next nearest competitor.

Agnico Eagle CEO wary of ‘bigger is better’ mergers – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – March 4, 2019)

March 4, 2019

https://business.financialpost.com/

His company wants nothing to do with the merger mania suddenly sweeping the gold mining sector

Speaking to a packed house on Sunday at the Prospectors and Developers Association Conference in downtown Toronto, Sean Boyd, chief executive of Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd., delivered a simple message: His company wants nothing to do with the merger mania suddenly sweeping the gold mining sector.

“The recent M&A is just competitive positioning among the biggest players in this business — not wanting to be left behind,” Boyd told a room of several hundred people.

The comments came as tens of thousands of mining investors and executives flock to Toronto for a conference that runs through Wednesday and has historically provided an opportunity for dealmaking, and for reflection on industry trends.

Why a Barrick takeover of Newmont would do little for gold investors – by Ian McGugan (Globe and Mail – February 27, 2019)

February 27, 2019

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Many people have described Barrick Gold Corp.’s hostile takeover offer for Newmont Mining Corp. as audacious. A better word might be “unnecessary.”

Unnecessary, that is, from an investor’s perspective. A successful bid would no doubt do wonders for the compensation of Barrick executives, who would wind up running the biggest gold company in the world by far.

However, a tie-up between Barrick and Newmont would do relatively little for gold lovers, who can already target all the precious-metals exposure they want through other channels.