Barrick Gold says focused on ‘future growth, sustainable value creation’

Barrick Gold (GOLD) reinforced its commitment to growth, reporting significant progress of its key growth projects while achieving its production guidance and setting the stage for continued sustainable value creation, said CEO Mark Bristow in the company’s annual report. During the year, Barrick completed feasibility studies for the Lumwana Super Pit Expansion in Zambia and the Reko Diq project in Pakistan. Both projects confirmed their Tier One potential, with Lumwana contributing 8.3M tonnes of copper reserves and Reko Diq adding 13M ounces of gold reserves and 7.3M tonnes of copper reserves on an attributable basis. The company also replaced all the gold and copper it mined during the year, more than replenishing the 4.6M ounces of attributable gold mineral reserve depletion at better grades. “Barrick stands alone in the industry as no other company matches our ability to replace the gold and copper we mine while simultaneously adding to our reserves through exploration and development. Our integrated resource and exploration strategy has allowed us to build a foundation that supports a projected 30% growth in gold equivalent ounces out to the end of the decade,” Bristow said. The expansion at Pueblo Viejo in the Dominican Republic continued to make progress towards the mine’s target of becoming a plus 800,000 ounce per year, long-life, low-cost gold producer. In Nevada, Goldrush progressed its ramp up as planned, while the adjacent Fourmile project has advanced to prefeasibility stage. The 2024 preliminary economic assessment highlighted Fourmile’s world-class potential with a significantly larger orebody endowment at nearly double the grade of Goldrush. “Barrick maintains one of the strongest balance sheets in the industry. This financial strength positions us to invest in our future as well as fund both the Lumwana and Reko Diq development projects, without the need to issue new shares or take on unnecessary debt,” said Bristow. “At the same time, our share buyback program not only returns capital to investors but also enhances per-share value, underscoring our disciplined approach to capital allocation.” Bristow added that sustainability remained at the core of Barrick’s operations, guiding its decisions and long-term strategy. “Local partnerships continue to be crucial to advancing our sustainability efforts and ensuring our host nations receive their fair share of economic value along with delivering tangible benefits to local communities.”