Barrick Gold updates MRE for Fourmile Project in Nevada

Barrick Gold (GOLD) updated its mineral resource estimate for its wholly-owned Fourmile project in Nevada, resulting in a 192% increase in indicated resources, a 137% increase in inferred resources and a 35% increase in grade relative to Barrick’s 2023 year-end mineral resource estimate. The increases reflect the addition of 25 new drill holes to the 2023 mineral resource estimate across the southernmost portion of the orebody, immediately adjacent to the Goldrush project at Cortez which is part of the Nevada Gold Mines joint venture. Speaking at Barrick’s Investor Day in New York, president and chief executive Mark Bristow said that the Fourmile project was a truly world-class asset and could be compared to the original Goldstrike deposit, the foundational asset of Barrick which is now part of NGM’s Carlin. “Our strategy of investing in organic growth through exploration and mineral resource management has set us apart from the industry. We believe in creating real value through discovery and development rather than relying on an increase in the gold price to justify high-premium mergers and acquisitions,” he said. “Since the formation of the NGM joint venture in 2019, we have added more than 19Moz of proven and probable mineral reserves to the life of mine plan on a 100% basis. This does not yet reflect the additional exploration upside that we see today, including Greater Leeville and Hanson in Cortez Underground,” said Bristow. Mineral resource management and evaluation executive Simon Bottoms added that the updated mineral resource estimate for Fourmile only covers approximately one-third of the overall orebody as defined by drilling to date. “To illustrate the potential value that a truly world-class orebody like Fourmile has, we have completed a preliminary economic assessment using conservative mining rates and costs, all of which draw directly from the current Goldrush mine plan. The results highlight the potential for annual operating cash flows resulting from Fourmile to be more than 70% higher than the already world-class Goldrush project. For the next stage of the project, we plan to start a three-year prefeasibility study in 2025, which will not only continue to define substantial resources and reserves across the entire orebody from surface drilling, while the northern Bullion Hill access is permitted and developed, but will also undertake pilot autoclave and roaster test work,” Bottoms said.