Barrick Gold Corporation – Page 25

Barrick Studies Impact of Chile’s Pascua-Lama Closure Order – by Danielle Bochove and Laura Millan Lombrana (Bloomberg News – January 18, 2018)

January 18, 2018

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Barrick Gold Corp. is analyzing revised sanctions on its Pascua-Lama project on the Chile-Argentine border after Chile’s environmental agency reduced a fine but imposed new conditions, including the definitive closure of the original project site.

Construction of the open-pit mine was halted by a Chilean court in April 2013. A month later, Chile’s environmental agency, known as SMA, fined the company and ordered it to take steps to safeguard water supplies.

The fine was the maximum the SMA could hand down and Barrick was able to cut it to about $16 million by paying within five days. Activists protested, calling for a higher penalty, and SMA was told to recalculate the fine.

Nevada mining industry to spend hundreds of millions in 2018 on expansion – by Rob Sabo (Northern Nevada Business Weekly – January 15, 2018)

January 15, 2018

Northern Nevada Business Weekly

ELKO, Nev. — Northern Nevada’s largest gold mining companies remain bullish on their operations in Northern Nevada for 2018 and beyond. Newmont Mining Corp. and Barrick Gold North America continue to pour hundreds of millions of dollars of development capital into surface and underground mining operations in Nevada.

The price of gold rose from $1,158 an ounce in January of 2017 to just under $1,350 an ounce in January of the new year — a figure that justifies continued investment in both companies’ Northern Nevada operations. Nigel Bain, executive director of Barrick’s U.S. operations, says the company has several major developments and infrastructure improvements slated for 2018.

CORTEZ HILLS UNDERGROUND EXPANSION

Workers on Barrick’s Deep South project will continue developing deeper access declines underneath the company’s existing underground mining activities at Cortez Hills, part of the Cortez mine area, which is the largest gold mining complex in the state of Nevada.

Barrick, Premier ink wide-ranging Nevada focused exploration, development pact – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – January 10, 2018)

January 11, 2018

http://www.miningweekly.com/

VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Gold major Barrick Gold has signed a comprehensive exploration and development agreement with Premier Gold Mines that include toll-milling and exploration earn-in options for both companies at the McCoy-Cove and Rye projects.

Premier announced on Wednesday that, under the terms of the agreement, Barrick will have an option to earn a 60% interest in the exploration portion of its McCoy-Cove property (the joint venture (JV) property) by spending $22.5-million in exploration before June 30, 2022.

Further, Premier will retain 100% ownership over the Cove deposit portion of the McCoy-Cove property, which includes the high-grade Helen, 2201 and CSD/CSD Gap deposits. Premier will also secure a one-time bulk sample processing arrangement for the planned test-mining programme at its 100%-owned portion of the McCoy-Cove property.

Barrick Gold eyes deals with rewritten M&A playbook – by John Tilak (Reuters Canada – December 22, 2017)

January 2, 2018

https://ca.reuters.com/

TORONTO (Reuters) – Barrick Gold Corp ABX.TO is actively reviewing acquisitions and in the past 18 months considered at least one transformational deal, as it seeks to boost looming production declines and drive growth, four people familiar with the company’s thinking told Reuters.

It marks a shift for Barrick, which has focused on selling assets to reduce debt in recent years, and signals a possible return to familiar territory as the world’s largest gold producer warms back up to dealmaking.

A series of asset sales, including a 50-percent stake in Argentine gold mine Veladero to Shandong Gold Mining Co Ltd 600547.SS for $960 million earlier this year, has helped put Barrick on a stronger footing and top its debt reduction target this year.

NEWS RELEASE: Skeena Secures Option to Acquire Eskay Creek & Announces Strategic Investment from Barrick (December 18, 2017)

December 19, 2017

https://www.skeenaresources.com/

Vancouver, BC (December 18, 2017) Skeena Resources Limited (TSX.V: SKE) (“Skeena” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the signing of an agreement with Barrick Gold Inc. (“Barrick”), granting an option (the “Option”) for the Company to acquire a 100% interest in the past-producing Eskay Creek property (“Eskay” or the “Property”) located in the Golden Triangle of northwest British Columbia. Barrick Gold Corporation will also complete a strategic investment with the Company for gross proceeds of C$1 million.

Skeena’s CEO, Walter Coles Jr. commented, “Eskay Creek was a remarkable discovery that became an extraordinary mine. It produced 3.3 million ounces of gold and 160 million ounces of silver from 2.2 million tonnes of ore from 1994 until closure in 2008. We are honoured that Barrick has given us an opportunity to investigate and potentially revitalize one of Canada’s highest-grade past-producing mines.”

Under the terms of the option agreement, Skeena may acquire a 100% interest in Eskay in consideration for:

Newmont Poised to Oust Barrick as World’s Top Gold Producer – by Danielle Bochove (Bloomberg News – December 6, 2017)

December 6, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Newmont Mining Corp.’s Gary Goldberg has the title of world’s biggest gold producer within his grasp. The chief executive officer raised his 2018 production forecast to a range of 4.9 million to 5.4 million ounces.

That exceeds Barrick Gold Corp.’s 2018 guidance of 4.8 million to 5.3 million given in February, which doesn’t include the impact of the sale of 50 percent of a mine in Argentina.

While Newmont is already ahead of Barrick by market value, the midpoints of the two companies’ 2017 guidance indicate Barrick will keep Newmont at bay this year in terms of output. That’s not the case in the following years.

Can Markets Save the West’s Most Controversial Bird? – by Daniel Rothberg (Bloomberg News – November 30, 2017)

November 30, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Agee Smith’s Cottonwood Ranch is tucked away in rural Nevada, about 450 miles from Las Vegas and not far from the Idaho border. The area is prime habitat for the greater sage grouse, an imperiled bird found in 11 western states. The male grouse is known for his eccentric mating dance—involving strutting, chest puffing and the inflation of two yellow air sacs on his neck.

Over the past two years, Smith worked to improve areas that are crucial habitats for sage grouse. He has planted sagebrush and improved the grass density in his meadows. If a new conservation method works as planned, Smith could make some money off his work.

Nevada, along with Colorado and Wyoming, has been working to create statewide markets for the conservation of the bird. In the simplest terms, these markets let developers—mining and energy companies, mainly—offset their impact on sage grouse by purchasing “credits” from ranchers who conserve an equal amount of habitat.

UPDATE 2-Top Acacia Mining bosses quit in midst of Tanzania dispute – by Zandi Shabalala (Reuters U.S. – November 2, 2017)

November 2, 2017

https://www.reuters.com/

LONDON, Nov 2 (Reuters) – Acacia Mining’s top two executives have resigned in the midst of talks between its parent company and the Tanzanian government aimed at ending a long-running dispute that has hit Acacia’s operations.

Barrick Gold, the world’s biggest gold miner and 63.9 percent owner of Acacia, struck a deal with Tanzania last month to end the dispute, part of which involved Acacia making a $300 million payment to the east African country.

But Acacia, whose three producing gold mines are in Tanzania and was not directly involved in the talks, appeared to have been taken by surprise by the announcement by Barrick chairman John Thornton and President John Magufuli. It said last week it could not immediately afford the payment.

Barrick’s Digital Reinvention Takes Shape in a Nevada Desert – by Danielle Bochove (Bloomberg News – October 30, 2017)

October 30, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Elko, Nevada is no Silicon Valley. A recent front-page story in the local paper hailed inductees to the Buckaroo Hall of Fame, a nod to the town’s cowboy past. Inside, a full-page spread detailed the aspirations of the kids vying for homecoming king and queen.

Yet it’s here, in an unremarkable warehouse in the foothills of the Ruby Mountains, that Barrick Gold Corp. has created an in-house coding hub to design software for its nearby Cortez operation — one step in its plan to use technology to revolutionize the business.

From underground WiFi to sensors that track the output of every miner, it’s all part of what Cisco Systems Inc. Executive Chairman John Chambers calls an “audacious goal” by his Barrick counterpart John Thornton to drag gold mining into the 21st century.

Barrick Has Surprise Loss on Tanzania Tax – by Danielle Bochove (Bloomberg News – October 25, 2017)

October 26, 2017

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Barrick Gold Corp. reported a surprise net loss in the third quarter on a tax provision related to operations in Tanzania.

An export ban at a unit in the African nation amid a contractual dispute also dragged down production and revenue for the world’s biggest gold miner. Barrick lowered the top end of its 2017 production guidance to 5.5 million from 5.6 million ounces, it said Wednesday in a statement.

All-in sustaining costs to produce an ounce of gold were $772 compared with analysts’ expectations for $785 and $704 in the third quarter of 2016. The third-quarter net loss was $11 million, compared with net income of $175 million a year earlier, Barrick said.

Tanzania: Dar Posts Biggest Coup in Mineral Wealth War (All Africa.com – October 24, 2017)

October 25, 2017

http://allafrica.com/

TANZANIA is on course to register the biggest coup in an economic war over its mineral resources after striking a deal with Barrick Gold Corp, to settle a tax and revenue sharing disputes over three gold mines in the country operated by its African subsidiary group, Acacia Mining.

After three months of painstaking negotiations, the Toronto-based company said it will pay the government 300 million US dollars (about 700bn/-) as part of the deal, give the government a 16 per cent stake in its mines, and will equally split “economic benefits” from the mining operations.

Barrick owns 63.9 per cent equity interest in Acacia Mining which is the country’s largest gold miner. As part of the agreement, Barrick Gold Corp said the government will participate in decisions related to operations, investment, planning, procurement, and marketing.

Juniors oppose Barrick’s plans to turn an old mine into a ski resort – by Valentina Ruiz Leotaud (Mining.com – October 24, 2017)

October 25, 2017

http://www.mining.com/

Junior miners say they oppose Barrick Gold’s (TSX, NYSE:ABX) idea to transform its old Mascot Giant nickel mine located near Hope, British Columbia, into a ski resort.

In an email sent out to the media, J.A. Chapman Mining Services Engineer, John Chapman, stated that his and other companies “are still actively conducting mineral exploration in and around the old Giant Mascot mine and are therefore against Barrick’s recreation proposal.”

Chapman attached a letter he sent back in 2012 to Gordon Hogg, the MLA for the B.C. riding of Surrey-White Rock, asking the provincial government to stop Barrick’s plans. He believes that the giant’s attempts to enter the hospitality business is just a way of turning a non-performing asset into a positive cash-flow operation.

Surprise, you owe Tanzania $300 million and 50% of what your gold mine makes – by Tom Wilson and Omar Mohammed (Financial Post/Bloomberg – October 20, 2017)

October 23, 2017

http://business.financialpost.com/

Acacia Mining Plc’s tumultuous year doesn’t seem likely to ease up any time soon. The gold miner’s shares surged as much as 41 per cent Thursday, after controlling shareholder Barrick Gold Corp. said it moved closer to resolving a crippling dispute with Tanzanian authorities.

Yet it seems Acacia itself — which must approve any deals Barrick negotiates with the government — was left out of the loop. Tanzania banned exports of unprocessed gold in March and hit Acacia with a US$190 billion tax bill in July, claiming the company had under-declared export revenue since 2000.

The ban meant the London-based company was forced to stockpile output and curb mining at its flagship operation. Third-quarter earnings plunged 70 per cent from a year ago, the company said Friday.

Group of 29 tribes oppose Pebble Mine, B.C.’s ‘transboundary’ projects – by Kevin Gullufsen (Juneau Empire – October 20, 2017)

October 20, 2017

http://juneauempire.com/

Southeast and Bristol Bay tribal mining opposition now has a unified front. Two Alaska Native tribal consortiums announced a “historic” partnership Wednesday at the Alaska Federation of Natives conference in Anchorage.

Tribal groups representing a majority of the indigenous peoples in Southeast and Bristol Bay will work together to oppose mining projects in both regions. The Juneau-based Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (CCTHITA) and Douglas Indian Association (DIA) are part of the agreement.

The United Tribes of Bristol Bay (UTBB), which represents 80 percent of the 14 Yup’ik, Denai’na, and Alutiq indigenous communities in Bristol Bay, signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission (SEITC), which represents 15 of the region’s 19 tribal organizations.