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Barrick Gold Corporation

Barrick Moves Closer to Resolving Acacia Dispute – by Danielle Bochove, Thomas Biesheuvel and Kenneth Karuri (Bloomberg News – December 12, 2018)

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Barrick Gold Corp. has reached an agreement with the Tanzanian government on a $300 million payment, a milestone toward resolving a dispute that has crippled the miner’s subsidiary in the African country, according to people familiar with the situation.

Executives from the Toronto-based producer and Randgold Resources Ltd., which is being bought by Barrick, met with Tanzanian negotiators on Dec. 7, said the people, who declined to be identified as the talks are private. During that meeting, the two sides made significant progress on a deal that includes Acacia Mining Plc paying $300 million in installments. The terms are now being handed off to a tax working group in Tanzania for review, the people said.

Once that group is satisfied with the numbers, the deal would have to be reviewed by Acacia’s board and the U.K. listing authority, and then voted on by shareholders, which could delay a resolution. Tanzania’s president, John Magufuli, would also need to review the findings of the group to be certain it’s in the best interests of the country, one of the people said.

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[Neveda Barrick] Q+A: Mining executive shares industry insights gleaned over decades – by Yvonne Gonzalez (Las Vegas Sun – December 9, 2018)

https://lasvegassun.com/

In more than 25 years in the mining industry, Michael Brown says that as he retires, his proudest moment was bringing his company to Southern Nevada.

Brown joined Barrick Gold Corp. in 1994 as the vice president of government affairs and is retiring as president by the end of the year. He shared some of his thoughts on the industry and the future with the Sun. His comments have been lightly edited for grammar and style.

What do you think are some of the key ways your work at Barrick helped bring the mining industry and state government closer together?

Starting in 2012, I shifted Barrick from “random acts of good deeds” to focused corporate social responsibility. It meant aligning the company with Gov. Brian Sandoval and the Legislature’s priorities, to help address the high school dropout rate and to advance economic diversification.

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La Mancha plans to expand its African footprint, buy Barrick gold mines (Reuters U.K. – November 27, 2018)

https://uk.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – La Mancha Group plans to buy more underground gold mines in Africa and is ready to snap up mines that Barrick Gold (ABX.TO) and Randgold Resources (RRS.L) will sell after their merger, its billionaire chairman Naguib Sawiris said on Tuesday.

“(The Barrick disposals) might be in geographies where we are very strong and that makes sense for us,” Sawiris told reporters on the sidelines of the Mines and Money conference in London. “We can extend the mine lives.”

Sawiris said he was looking for mines with lives of at least 10 years and with output of 150,000 to 250,000 ounces per annum.

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New Barrick CEO eyes miners’ alliance to fix Tanzania tax row – by Zandi Shabalala and Susan Taylor (Bloomberg News – November 26, 2018)

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON/TORONTO (Reuters) – Barrick Gold’s (ABX.TO) incoming chief executive said he wants to pull together Tanzania’s mining industry to tackle a “desperate” tax dispute that has snared several companies, including the firm’s Acacia Mining (ACAA.L) unit.

In an increasingly acrimonious conflict that has lasted almost two years, the government has torn up mining contracts, hiked taxes and royalties, and banned raw minerals exports.

President John Magufuli, nicknamed “The Bulldozer”, swept to power in 2015 pledging to secure a bigger share of resource wealth and cut corruption. Acacia was later handed a $190 billion tax bill – about four times the country’s gross domestic product – for underreporting output.

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Ex-SAS Officer Who Led Barrick’s Tanzania Talks Has Left – by Danielle Bochove (Bloomberg News – November 21, 2018)

https://www.bloomberg.com/

One of Barrick Gold Corp.’s most senior executives, who held various high-profile roles at the company from Nevada to Tanzania, has left the company as it prepares to complete its merger with Randgold Resources Ltd.

Richard Williams served as Barrick’s chief of staff and later chief operating officer. A former commander in Britain’s Special Air Service, he was assigned in February to work full-time on securing a deal between the Tanzanian government and Barrick’s majority-owned subsidiary Acacia Mining Plc.

“Willem Jacobs will be taking on those responsibilities following the completion of the merger, in his capacity as head of Africa and Middle East,” Barrick spokesman Andy Lloyd said by text. He declined to comment further other than to confirm that Williams has left Toronto-based Barrick.

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Barrick Gold eyes assets, exploration as it plots new phase – by Susan Taylor and Zandi Shabalala (Reuters/Yahoo – November 16, 2018)

https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/

TORONTO/LONDON (Reuters) – Barrick Gold Corp, soon to become the world’s largest bullion miner, is interested in adding more copper assets as long as the red metal is accompanied by bullion, executives said on Friday.

Barrick, which expects to complete its $6.1 billion takeover of Randgold Resources Jan. 1, outlined plans for exploration, expansion, streamlining and asset sales at an investor presentation in London.

Structured under regions in North America, South America and Africa and the Middle East, Barrick spent the last four days focusing on where to take the merged company, said Randgold Chief Executive Officer Mark Bristow, who will be Barrick’s new CEO.

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Barrick Gold in talks to sell Lagunas Norte mine in Peru – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – November 17, 2018)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Barrick Gold Corp. is in talks to sell its Lagunas Norte gold mine in Peru with a sale announcement possible before the end of the year.

Mark Hill, chief operating officer, Latin America and Australia Pacific, with Barrick, made the comments about Lagunas on Friday during a webcast alongside executives from Randgold Resources Ltd., which Barrick is in the process of acquiring.

Earlier this year, Barrick’s executive chairman, John Thornton, said the Toronto-based gold miner intended to sell assets that weren’t strategic or tier-one and included Lagunas as an example. He defined tier-one as a property that produces at least half a million ounces of gold a year, has a life of more than 10 years and is low cost.

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Randgold CEO Says New Barrick to Focus on Cash-Generating Assets – by Rupert Rowling (Bloomberg News – November 6, 2018)

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Randgold Resources Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Mark Bristow said the company formed by its merger with Barrick Gold Corp. will focus on high-quality assets to generate cash to boost dividends and shareholder value.

The merger between Barrick and Randgold will also provide momentum for further consolidation within the gold industry, which needs to better compete for global investors, Bristow said in an interview after the release of his company’s third-quarter results.

Key Insights

It’s clear that Bristow, who will become CEO of new Barrick, will employ the same game plan that made Randgold the darling of gold-mining investors. That means focusing on the five tier-1 assets the enlarged company will have in its portfolio and sweating them for cash.

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Large Canadian gold miners ‘to finish year strong’ despite lower prices – EY (MiningWeekly.com – November 7, 2018)

http://www.miningweekly.com/

Despite lower gold prices in the second and third quarters of the year, Canada’s large-cap gold companies are trending towards a stronger second half and most of them are looking to finish the year strong, EY Canada Mining and Metals transaction leader Jay Patel said on Tuesday.

The gold price decreased by 5% in the third quarter, consistent with the decline in the second quarter, mainly owing to the strong US dollar and the recent Federal Reserve rate hike in September.

Patel said that improving grades and production ramp-ups helped senior gold companies to maintain their production guidance for the year, following a challenging second-quarter performance.

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Randgold ready to mediate in Acacia’s Tanzania row before Barrick tie-up – by Zandi Shabalala (Reuters Canada – November 6, 2018)

https://ca.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – Randgold Resources (RRS.L) said on Tuesday it would mediate in a tax dispute between Tanzania and Acacia Mining (ACAA.L), a firm in which Randgold investors will have a stake if its planned merger with Barrick Gold (ABX.TO) is approved by shareholders.

Randgold Chief Executive Mark Bristow, who will lead the group after the Barrick tie-up, also told Reuters that Barrick could dispose of its Zambian copper mine after the merger.

In Tanzania, the government has accused Acacia, which is 63.9 percent owned by Barrick, of tax evasion and has slapped it with a $190 billion tax charge and banned any exports of unprocessed gold. Acacia denies any wrongdoing.

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Barrick shareholders approve Randgold acquisition – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – November 6, 2018)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Barrick Gold Corp. is one step closer to closing its biggest acquisition in seven years with shareholders voting overwhelmingly in favour of its $6-billion (U.S.) takeover of Randgold Resources Ltd.

On Monday, roughly 99 per cent of shareholders voted in favour of its zero-premium, all-stock purchase of Jersey-based Randgold, which operates in Africa.

Unlike Barrick’s $7.3-billion purchase of copper miner Equinox Minerals Ltd. in 2011, which was blamed for destroying billions in shareholder value, this deal has been warmly welcomed by shareholders on both sides since it was announced in late September.

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Tanzania deaths spark criticism of grievance process at Barrick subsidiary – by Geoffrey York (Globe and Mail – November 6, 2018)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Barrick Gold Corp., entering the final stages of its US$6-billion takeover of Africa-focused Randgold Resources Ltd., is facing fresh questions about unresolved grievance claims for dozens of deaths and injuries among villagers around a subsidiary’s mine site in Tanzania.

Barrick subsidiary Acacia Mining says it has sharply reduced the number of violent clashes between Tanzanian police and local villagers who enter its North Mara site in search of waste rock, from which they can extract small bits of gold.

But while the deaths and injuries may have declined, Acacia is still grappling with complaints that its grievance procedure is unfair and has failed to provide proper compensation for the injured and the families of people who were killed.

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Barrick in talks with Newmont to combine Nevada gold operations: sources – by Zandi Shabalala and Clara Denina (Reuters U.S. – November 5, 2018)

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – Barrick Gold Corp, which is being formed by Barrick’s (ABX.TO) $6.1 billion takeover of Randgold Resources (RRS.L), is in talks with Newmont Mining (NEM.N) to combine their Nevada gold mining operations, sources told Reuters.

Last month’s tie-up between Barrick and Africa-focused Randgold Resources revived speculation about a joint venture between Newmont and Barrick in Nevada, something the two mining firms had explored in 2014 without reaching a deal.

“They have been trying to negotiate for years but Newmont couldn’t agree with Barrick, now that you have a new management team, it’s certain they revived those talks,” one source said.

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OPINION: As Barrick gains a new partner, what’s been lost? – by Jennifer Wells (Toronto Star – November 5, 2018)

https://www.thestar.com/

“There are analysts who a year ago wouldn’t touch Barrick. There are analysts who don’t like the colour of my hair.” I didn’t write about Peter Munk when he died this past March at the age of 90.

But Monday being voting day, in which the merger between Barrick Gold Corp. and Randgold Resources Ltd. will be consummated, seems an appropriate time for an elegy.

I can’t state with certainty the first time I interviewed Munk, but it must have been around 1987 or so. Perhaps earlier. In my memory it was thought by some editor somewhere that handing a youngish woman the mining beat might be a bit of fun, though I didn’t have to write the regular Drill Hole Diary feature, thank goodness.

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Barrick takes $405-million writedown on Peruvian mine – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – October 24, 2018)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

About a month after announcing its biggest takeover in seven years, Barrick Gold Corp. has announced a hefty write-down on a South American mine and says its full-year gold production will likely be on the lower end of its forecast.

In a release after trading closed on Wednesday, Barrick said it lost US$412-million in the third quarter, driven in large measure by a US$405-million impairment charge at its Lugunas Norte mine in Peru.

Barrick said it had studied whether it could profitably process “refractory” ore, which is a difficult to handle sulphide-rich rock, at Lagunas Norte, but concluded it wasn’t feasible for the time being. In an e-mail, Barrick spokesman Andy Lloyd said it could still be an option at some point in the future.

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