June 28, 2013
All amounts expressed in US dollars unless otherwise indicated
TORONTO — Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:ABX) (TSX:ABX) (Barrick or the “company”) is providing the following updates on the Pascua-Lama project in Chile and Argentina with respect to construction re-sequencing, capital expenditures and impairment testing.
Schedule Re-sequencing and Reduction of 2013-2014 Capital Spending
The company has submitted a plan, subject to review by Chilean regulatory authorities, to construct the project’s water management system in compliance with permit conditions for completion by the end of 2014, after which Barrick expects to complete remaining construction works in Chile, including pre-stripping. Under this scenario, ore from Chile is
expected to be available for processing by mid-2016.
In line with this timeframe, and in light of challenging market conditions and materially lower metal prices, the company intends to re-sequence construction of the process plant and other facilities in Argentina in order to target first production by mid-2016 (compared to the previous schedule of the second half of 2014).
Re-sequencing the project primarily entails a reduction in project staffing levels as construction is extended over a longer period of time to coincide with the availability of ore from Chile in mid-2016.