Critical minerals sector is ‘not healthy,’ says head of global gold giant – by Naimul Karim (Financial Post – February 18, 2024)

https://financialpost.com/

‘Just look at the so-called critical minerals industry today, lithium’s a bust, so is nickel’ — Barrick chief

The critical mineral industry required to power the energy transition away from fossil fuels is in an unhealthy state and running ahead of itself, says Barrick Gold Corp.’s chief executive Mark Bristow, who heads the world’s second-largest gold company.

Bristow said the mining sector is entering an era dominated by the demand for metals such as lithium, nickel and cobalt, but the projects containing these critical minerals are often led by promoters more focused on the short-term benefits rather than by “responsible miners” that are in it for the long run.

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Barrick Gold executive shuffle sees John Thornton moved to chair – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – February 15, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The power structure at the upper tiers of the world’s second biggest gold company is shifting with the diminution in the role played by long-term Barrick Gold Corp. executive chairman John Thornton. Toronto-based Barrick on Wednesday announced that Mr. Thornton has moved from the role of executive chairman to chairman, a position that carries fewer responsibilities, lower pay, and much more clearly-defined parameters.

Barrick said the change in Mr. Thornton’s role was driven in part by governance considerations. In a regulatory disclosure alongside its latest quarterly earnings, Barrick said that considering Mr. Thornton had achieved key objectives following the company’s 2019 acquisition of Randgold Resources Ltd., this was both the right time for him to transition to chairman, and for the company to do away with the executive chairman role.

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Barrick denies one of its executives recently met with First Quantum in Panama to talk M&A – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – January 19, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Barrick Gold Corp. ABX-T is disputing an account by a Panamanian official about an alleged meeting between one of its executives and First Quantum Minerals Ltd. in Panama to discuss a possible buyout deal. Vancouver-based First Quantum said this week it is considering a range of merger and acquisition options as it attempts to stem the financial damage caused by the closing of its giant Panama copper mine.

Ebrahim Asvat, a former adviser with the Panamanian government, told The Globe and Mail on Thursday that Juana Barceló, president of Barrick’s Pueblo Viejo operations in the Dominican Republic, was in Panama in early January, and met with people at First Quantum.

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Is First Quantum a takeover target? Here we go again – by David Berman (Globe and Mail – January 6, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

First Quantum Minerals Ltd. has begun 2024 looking like a winning stock, but its early rebound may add another layer of risk to an investment that has been reeling from setbacks related to the company’s huge copper mine in Panama.

Just ask anyone who jumped on the rally by Laurentian Bank of Canada last July, in the hope of a bidding war for the struggling lender. By the time the bank announced six weeks later that no buyer had emerged, the shares were down nearly 30 per cent.

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Barrick considering new takeover offer for First Quantum, report says – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – January 4, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Barrick Gold Corp. is reportedly considering a fresh takeover bid for embattled Canadian copper miner First Quantum Minerals Ltd., after making an earlier approach in the middle of last year.

According to a report on Wednesday, Toronto-based Barrick contacted some of First Quantum’s biggest shareholders late last year to ascertain their interest in a takeover. Barrick would need their support in the event of a transaction.

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Barrick sounds out First Quantum holders on possible bid – by Thomas Biesheuvel, Dinesh Nair and Alfred Cang (Bloomberg News – January 3, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

Barrick Gold Corp. has spoken with some of First Quantum Minerals Ltd.’s major investors to gauge their support for a potential takeover, after the sudden closure of its flagship mine left the Canadian copper producer reeling and wiped out more than half its market value.

Barrick chief executive officer Mark Bristow approached some of First Quantum’s largest investors late last year, according to people familiar with the situation, who asked not to be identified as the talks were private. It wasn’t immediately clear if Barrick has made a fresh approach to First Quantum, and there’s no guarantee it will make a formal offer.

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Barrick gets go ahead for Goldrush mine ramp-up – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – December 11, 2023)

https://www.mining.com/

Canada’s Barrick Gold (TSX: ABX) (NYSE: GOLD) said on Monday that the US Bureau of Land Management has approved the company’s plan of operations for its Goldrush underground mine at the Cortez Complex near Beowawe, Nevada.

The gold operation, run by Barrick’s JV with Newmont (NYSE: NEM) Nevada Gold Mines (NGM), is expected to start ramping up production in 2024 after the commissioning of the initial project infrastructure. The mine is expected to generate 130,000 ounces of gold in 2024 and grow to about 400,000 ounces of the precious metal per annum by 2028.

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‘A decade of free money’ is why the price of gold has continued to rise, says Mark Bristow – by Naimul Karim (Financial Post – December 11, 2023)

https://financialpost.com/

Barrick CEO expects the demand for gold to continue increasing

The recent rise of gold to a record US$2,135 per ounce has led to much discussion of the reasons behind the metal’s positive run during the past few years, from central banks investing more in bullion to expectations of rate cuts next year.

Mark Bristow, chief executive of Barrick Gold Corp., the world’s second-largest gold producer, expects the demand for gold to continue increasing, so he’s been looking to expand the company’s reserves. But, according to him, a “decade of free money” is a key reason why the price of gold has continued to rise over the past five years.

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Barrick CEO Bristow reaffirms vow to improve safety record amid rise in work fatalities – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – November 3, 2023)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Barrick Gold Corp. ABX-T chief executive officer Mark Bristow is vowing once again to improve the company’s poor safety record after the Canadian miner reported two more fatalities at its sites this year – bringing the total under his tenure at the company to 13.

Mr. Bristow said in an interview Thursday that an electrician was killed at its Loulo-Gounkoto mine in Mali after the worker opened up a live electrical box after walking in water to fix a pump. In Nevada, a contractor died after losing control of a vehicle driving down a steep road.

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Barrick cleared to restart Porgera gold mine in Papua New Guinea – by Staff (Mining.com – October 13, 2023)

https://www.mining.com/

Barrick Gold (NYSE: GOLD) (TSX: ABX) has received the go-ahead from the government of Papua New Guinea to restart the Porgera mine, which has been placed on care and maintenance for three years.

On Friday, the gold miner announced that New Porgera Ltd. (NPL) was granted a special mining lease by the island country’s Governor General, clearing the way for the 700,000 oz./y operation to return to production.

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Barrick Says Big Miners Show Interest in Pakistan Copper Project – by Jacob Lorinc (Bloomberg News – September 20, 2023)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Barrick Gold Corp.’s top executive says it’s not just Saudi Arabia interested in his company’s massive copper project in Pakistan — some major mining companies are, too.

The Canadian miner’s $7 billion Reko Diq project in Balochistan — a region bordering Afghanistan and Iran — boasts one of the world’s largest copper deposits and could become a major source of the wiring metal.

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Mark Bristow: Dream big and work hard (Elko Daily Free Press – September 16, 2023)

https://elkodaily.com/

The Mining Minds podcast crew recently went to the Nevada Gold Mines offices in Elko to visit with Mark Bristow, the president and chief executive office of Barrick Gold Corp. Barrick is the operator and 61.5% owner of Nevada Gold Mines, and Newmont owns 38.5%.

Bristow took the podcast listeners on a journey through his life story and the challenges and successes along the way. He grew up in South Africa and was always involved in sports and athletics – “I’ve run more than 200 standard marathons.” There were a lot of political changes going on in the country. He was conscripted into the military at the peak of apartheid.

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Miners’ hunt for copper takes Barrick to Pakistan’s western frontier – by Benjamin Parkin and Harry Dempsey (Financial Post/Financial Times – September 6, 2023)

https://financialpost.com/

Reko Diq adds uncertainty for investors, but Barrick is ‘no stranger to frontier jurisdictions’

For three decades, international mining companies have tussled with officials and locals over a patch of desert around an extinct volcano in Pakistan’s neglected, insurgent-prone western province of Balochistan.

Now, after resolving years of legal disputes, Barrick Gold Corp. wants to invest US$7 billion to revive the mining project Reko Diq, which experts believe contains one of the world’s largest untapped reserves of copper and gold.

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Barrick’s Bristow talks down chances of buying biggest gold competitors, as he focuses on the basics – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – August 9, 2023)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Barrick Gold Corp. chief executive Mark Bristow is talking down the chances of buying either of his two biggest competitors, Newmont Corp. and Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd., as he shuns deal-making in favour of growing Canada’s biggest gold company from the ground up.

Barrick has sat on the sidelines in large-scale mergers and acquisitions since Mr. Bristow joined the company in 2019, after it bought Randgold Resources Ltd., a company he founded and ran for two decades.

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Barrick Gold targeted by Russian cybercriminal group Clop in global data theft that hit Sun Life, Vancouver transit police – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – July 20, 2023)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Canada’s biggest gold company has been targeted by shadowy Russian cybercriminal group Clop in a massive global data theft incident that has affected hundreds of corporations and close to 20 million individuals.

Barrick Gold Corp. is one of a growing tally of at least 376 organizations publicized by Clop in an attack that has seen confidential data stolen from financial firms and health care providers, as well as U.S. government agencies and Canadian municipalities.

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