Barrick Gold Corporation – Page 31

World’s 10 Top Producing Gold Mines – by Paul Ausick (247 Wallst.com – January 22, 2017)

January 23, 2017

From a peak of more than $1,900 in mid-2011, gold prices dropped below $1,100 in 2015 before rising to around $1,400 last summer. On Friday, the February delivery price settled at $1,210.20, up about $100 since mid-December. The price of gold generally rises in periods of inflation and periods of economic uncertainty.

This is certainly one of the latter and may be the beginning of one of the former. The consumer price index topped 2% last week, and November’s election of Donald Trump as the 45th U.S.

President has presented investors with plenty of uncertainty. A strong dollar also tends to weigh on the price of gold, and Trump has made clear his belief that the dollar is overvalued compared with the Chinese yuan. If the dollar sinks, interest in gold rises.

What Mining Giants From Barrick to Teck Are Watching For In 2017 – by Danielle Bochove (Bloomberg News – December 22, 2016)

December 22, 2016

https://www.bloomberg.com/

It’s been a turbulent year for miners, with metal prices starting near multi-year lows as executives drew from a common playbook: slashing spending, costs and debt. Then came Brexit and the U.S. election and gold and base metals diverged.

What does 2017 hold? Bloomberg asked the heads of some of the biggest producers including Barrick Gold Corp., Newmont Mining Corp. and Teck Resources Ltd. Opinions vary, but there’s broad agreement that gold faces near-term headwinds from the Fed; that industrial metals have bottomed out but the dizzying 2016 rally may falter; and that miners will begin to spend more, possibly on deals, while keeping an eye on balance sheets.

Barrick’s Kelvin Dushnisky: “If we see an opportunity to acquire something, to increase our margin, earnings, NAV, then we’ll consider it. But if it’s just a matter of adding to our production base, we’re not interested.”

Barrick Gold subsidiary loses prospecting licence in Tanzania – by Geoffrey York (Globe and Mail – December 10, 2016)

December 12, 2016

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

JOHANNESBURG — Tanzania’s president has lashed out at a Canadian-owned mining company, ordering the cancellation of its prospecting licence at a site where thousands of small-scale miners were facing the threat of forcible removal.

“How do you kick out more than 5,000 people in favour of just one investor?” President John Magufuli told senior officials this week, according to Tanzanian media reports. “This is unacceptable.” He ordered his vice-president to cancel a licence held by a local subsidiary of Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corp. and said the small-scale miners should be allowed to stay.

The popular new president, an anti-corruption campaigner nicknamed “The Bulldozer” who was elected last year, has repeatedly criticized the foreign-owned mining companies in his East African country. He has accused them of “a lot of funny deals” to avoid taxes in Tanzania, the fourth-biggest gold producer in Africa.

Barrick’s Munk Heads Top Ten Most Important Mining Men in Canadian History – by Stan Sudol

October 6, 2017November 30, 2016

An edited version of this list was published in the February/March issue of the Canadian Mining Journal.

Four Americans Made the List!

A few months ago, my dear colleague Joe Martin, who is the Director of the Canadian Business & Financial History Initiative at Rotman and President Emeritus of Canada’s History Society, asked me a very simple question: who would be considered the most important individual in Canadian mining?

Considering Canada’s lengthy and exceptional expertise in the mineral sector, it was not an easy answer and I decided to research and create a top ten list of the most important mining men in Canadian history.

The lack of women on this list simply reflects the fact that for much of our history most women were not given the educational or social opportunities to excel in business, especially in a rough and male-dominated sector like mining. Times have changed, women are playing key roles in mining today and will definitely be included on this list in the future.

However, a few qualifiers need to be established. This is basically a list of mine builders not mine finders. Building a company through takeovers and discoveries is one way but I am also focusing on individuals who have built corporate empires and/or who have developed isolated regions of the country with the necessary infrastructure for mines to flourish and create multi-generational jobs, shareholder wealth and great economic impact.

Miners go green in hunt for cost efficiencies, using renewable energy sources in far-flung locations – by Sunny Freeman (Financial Post – November 29, 2016)

November 29, 2016

http://business.financialpost.com/

Mining companies are digging into renewable energy as a way to reduce costs and offset the impact of volatile conventional fuel prices as the world shifts to a low-carbon economy.

Industry executives gathered last week at the Energy and Mines World Congress in Toronto focused on how innovation in energy – which can comprise as much as one-quarter of operating expenses in remote locations – can make mines more cost-effective and environmentally sustainable. “I think we will be surprised at the speed at which mining companies will start to adopt these things,” said Adriaan Davidse, mining innovation leader at Deloitte.

Amid rapid improvements in renewable technologies, wind and solar prices have fallen dramatically in recent years and are expected to keep dropping. In many parts of the world —especially in remote locations – the alternative energy solutions are becoming cheaper than conventional sources.

Barrick mulls Kalgoorlie bid of roughly $1.3 billion by China’s Minjar: sources – by John Tilak and Susan Taylor (Reuters Canada – November 24, 2016)

November 25, 2016

http://ca.reuters.com/

TORONTO (Reuters) – Barrick Gold is reviewing the financial backing behind an approximately $1.3 billion bid for its stake in Australia’s Kalgoorlie mine by Minjar Gold, a unit of Shanghai-listed Shandong Tyan Home, two sources told Reuters.

Toronto-based Barrick, the world’s largest gold producer, is studying the offer for the 50 percent stake to ensure Minjar has adequate resources and support to complete the transaction, said the sources, who declined to be identified as the matter is private. Barrick declined to comment.

Little-known Minjar has trumped offers by Australian, Chinese and Canadian companies for the asset, the sources said.Newmont Mining, Barrick’s joint venture partner at Kalgoorlie and mine operator, has said it was interested in buying the remaining stake, but price has been a sticking a point.

Soros More Than Doubles Stake in Barrick Gold as Shares Drop – by Luzi-Ann Javier (Bloomberg News – November 14, 2016)

November 15, 2016

http://www.bloomberg.com/

After selling most of his stock in Barrick Gold Corp. in the second quarter, billionaire investor George Soros more than doubled his remaining holding in the mining company.

Soros Fund Management LLC bought 1.78 million Barrick shares in the third quarter, taking total holdings to 2.85 million, according to a regulatory filing.

The fund rebuilt its stake in Barrick, one of the world’s two largest gold producers, after selling 94 percent of its holdings in the second quarter to cash in on the stock’s best first-half performance ever.

The world’s hardest working gold mines – by Frik Els (Mining.com – November 3, 2016)

November 7, 2016

http://www.mining.com/

Gold’s stellar run this year has not only breathed new life into the exploration sector, but prompted producing mines to maximize output to make the most of higher prices.

It takes years to get a new mine into operation, expansion projects are not completed in a few months and reviving mines under care and maintenance is not a quick task. But confidence in gold’s prospects, planning, timing (and a healthy dose of luck) meant that the mines on our list hit their stride just as gold was entering an upswing.

The list below is based on a compilation from the GFMS team at Thomson Reuters plus data provided by MINING.com’s sister company IntelligenceMine. The ranking compares gold ounces produced (not gold-equivalent ounces) by existing and new mines during the first six months of 2016 with the same period last year (Q3 production figures were not available for all the mines).

Automation becoming more prevalent in mining, says executive (CBC News Sudbury – November 03, 2016)

November 4, 2016

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/

Automation is the key to the future of innovation in the industry, experts say

Mining companies are starting to transform how they operate, namely by embracing automation in underground work, according to a senior executive at Barrick Gold.

Michelle Ash, the senior vice president of transformation and innovation for the Toronto-based mining company spoke at the mining innovation summit in Sudbury, Ont., which wrapped up Tuesday. The wear and tear on the componentry is significantly less,” she said of the use of automated equipment underground.

“We’ve seen that in our Hemlo Mine, where trucks have gone in for their major rebuild at 20,000 hours and … everything is almost pristine.” A number of components didn’t even need to be replaced, she added.

New water treatment plants help secure a positive legacy (Barrick Beyond Borders – October 20, 2016)

November 4, 2016

http://barrickbeyondborders.com/

Water treatment plants at the Pierina mine in Peru are an important part of the mine’s closure plan

As part of its mine closure obligations, Barrick’s Pierina mine has built two new water treatment plants to safeguard local water quality. The Peru-based mine, which is winding down operations after 18 years, also built a cyanide detoxification plant to treat cyanide contained in the site’s heap leach pad.

“Cyanide is often used to leach gold contained inside ore, and this was the case at Pierina,” says Jorge Lobato, Environmental and Closure Manager at Pierina. “Even when operations at Pierina come to an end, cyanide will be present in the solutions from the heap leach pad and must be treated. The cyanide detoxification plant will operate until all cyanide has been consumed or destroyed on site.”

Pierina is located about 185 miles north of Lima in a high precipitation region of Peru. Average annual rainfall is 1,200 millimeters which, combined with natural conditions of the area, make conditions ripe for acid rock drainage. Acid rock drainage refers to the acidification of water that occurs when sulfide-based ore is exposed to air and water.

Chinese miners eyeing Barrick mine face regulatory morass Susan Taylor and Luc Cohen (Reuters U.S. – October 28, 2016)

October 28, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

TORONTO/BUENOS AIRES – Chinese state-owned miners considering buying into Barrick Gold Corp’s (ABX.TO) operations in Argentina would take on assets that are under regulatory scrutiny and entangled in lawsuits and investigations.

China’s Zijin Mining Group Co (601899.SS) and Shandong Gold Mining Co (600547.SS) have held separate talks to buy a 50-percent stake in the Veladero gold mine, one of Barrick’s core mines, four sources with knowledge of the process told Reuters this week.

Barrick would like any buyer to also make an investment in its nearby Pascua-Lama gold and silver project, two of the sources said. On Thursday, Barrick’s president said the company will consider offers to buy some or all of its core mines.

Exclusive: Chinese miners in talks for stake in Barrick’s Veladero mine – sources – by John Tilak and Nicole Mordant (Reuters U.S. – October 25, 2016)

October 26, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

TORONTO/VANCOUVER – China’s Zijin Mining Group Co Ltd and Shandong Gold Mining Co Ltd have held separate talks with Barrick Gold Corp to buy a 50 percent stake in its Veladero gold mine in Argentina, according to four sources with knowledge of the process.

Veladero is one of Barrick’s five core mines, which are all in the Americas. It is expected to produce between 580,000 and 640,000 ounces of gold this year.

The high quality of the mine, production capacity and the prospect for geographical diversification have appealed to the state-owned Chinese suitors, said three of the sources, who requested anonymity because the matter is private. All of the persons spoke over the past week.

Newmont, Barrick Agree More on Present Than Future Value of Mine – by Danielle Bochove (Bloomberg News – October 17, 2016)

October 18, 2016

http://www.bloombergquint.com/

(Bloomberg) — A split between the world’s two largest gold producers over the value of their jointly owned Australian mine is more about future economic expectations than what’s in the ground.

That’s the view of Newmont Mining Corp.’s Gary Goldberg, who has been saying for over a year he’d be interested in buying Barrick Gold Corp.’s half of the Kalgoorlie Super Pit — at the right price. Since Barrick officially started a sales process of the 50 percent stake in July, a wide field of potential bidders is said to have formed to vie with Newmont for the stake in Australia’s largest open-pit gold mine.

“We’re not misaligned in terms of where we see some of the value of the resource that’s there,” Newmont’s chief executive officer said in an interview with Bloomberg TV Canada. “But people have different assumptions on exchange rates, and gold price, those sorts of things.”

Argentina judge to rule on suspended Barrick mine soon -local gov’t (Reuters U.S. – September 28, 2016)

September 29, 2016

http://www.reuters.com/

Barrick Gold Corp’s Veladero mine in Argentina could reopen in coming days if a report confirms repairs were made after a leak of processing solution containing cyanide earlier this month, a provincial government said.

San Juan province Mining Minister Alberto Hensel said in a statement on Tuesday that a team of police investigators would deliver a technical report within 48 hours to the judge who ordered the temporary suspension.

“If all the repairs have been completed and the mining police give the OK… there will be no reason to sustain the injunction,” said Judge Pablo Oritja, according to the provincial government’s statement.

Barrick sees ‘perfect storm’ brewing around cost-effective renewables (MiningWeekly.com – September 20, 2016)

September 21, 2016

http://www.miningweekly.com/

VANCOUVER – Renewable-energy sources have reached the stage where they can reduce energy costs as well as emissions, Barrick Gold’s senior manager of energy and greenhouse gases (GHGs), Russell Blades, tells Energy and Mines.

“We are seeing a ‘perfect storm’ brewing around renewables. Solar and energy storage are improving in efficiencies and reducing in costs. Renewables are already cost-effective in many areas compared to traditional fossil fuel power options,” Blades says, adding that, in terms of further reducing Barrick Gold’s energy costs and emissions, the company sees renewables as having an important role to play alongside its energy management and fuel switching initiatives.

Moreover, with governments, investors and stakeholders more focused on carbon emissions, pricing and climate change, mines are moving more towards electrification and automation. “Barrick recognises this global trend and is trying to get ahead of the curve to be a market leader to benefit our shareholders and other stakeholders,” Blades notes.