GOLD: Strategy-Driven Barrick builds on value foundation
TORONTO – Five years after the transformational Merger with Randgold Resources, Barrick Gold Corporation has been restructured and repurposed as a modern mining business with a constantly replenished, global asset base of peerless quality, managed by a team with an unparalleled record of recognizing and realizing opportunities, says chairman John Thornton in the company’s 2024 Information Circular.
“This Barrick is guided by a long-term, future-facing strategy, finely attuned to the demands and expectations of a rapidly changing world. Its aim is not only to secure the company’s sustainable profitability but also to make sustainability, in every sense, the core of its activities. Barrick’s pioneering partnership philosophy, a key component of its commitment to sustainability, has already transformed the once-derelict Tanzanian mines into a complex with Tier One1 potential; reconstituted the Reko Diq project in Pakistan and is now developing it into one of the world’s largest copper-gold producers; and after three years of negotiation, achieved an agreement for the re-opening of the Porgera gold mine in Papua New Guinea, where mining and processing have restarted and will be ramping up over the next two quarters,” he says.
“It is clear to me that we have achieved all the initial objectives we set for ourselves. The renewed emphasis on exploration has placed Barrick in the unique position of more than replenishing the reserves depleted by mining year after year. Major organic growth projects, such as Reko Diq, the current extension of Pueblo Viejo’s Tier One mine life by more than 20 years2, and the transformation of Lumwana into one of the world’s major copper mines, will secure Barrick’s production profile well into the future. Expanding the copper portfolio was one of Barrick’s key strategic aims, and when the new Lumwana and Reko Diq are commissioned in 2028, Barrick will become a major-league producer. In the meantime, we continue to pursue opportunities for growing our copper portfolio.”
Thornton says Barrick’s balance sheet, once burdened by heavy debt, is now one of the industry’s most robust and its strong operational cash flows ensure that it has the capacity to fund existing and new organic growth projects, as well as to take advantage of any fresh opportunities that meet the company’s stringent investment criteria.
“Barrick’s footprint is being expanded and currently comprises mines, projects and exploration programs in 18 countries across four continents, covering the main prospective regions for gold and copper,” he says.
Also in the Information Circular, lead director Brett Harvey says Barrick’s Board prioritizes renewal and diversity in its own ranks in order to enhance its already high level of global business experience and to make its membership more fully representative of the societies in which the company operates. “Since the Merger, seven new members have been appointed and women now account for 40% of our directors standing for election, while 40% identify as racially or ethnically diverse,” Harvey says.
