Standalone gold company would hold nearly 100 million ounces
Barrick Mining has settled a long-running dispute with Newmont over their Nevada operations, receiving a $1.95 billion cash payout that clears the way for an initial public offering of its North American gold assets. The Wall Street Journal reported the agreement Aug. 10.
The settlement resolves governance disputes stemming from the 2019 creation of Nevada Gold Mines, the joint venture the two mining majors established after Barrick dropped an $18 billion hostile takeover bid for Newmont. Barrick shares fell in premarket trading, down 6.5% at $40.85, while Newmont shares rose 1.9% at $115.11.
With the dispute resolved, Barrick can now move forward with an IPO of its gold portfolio. The miner’s board approved plans to list a minority stake in its flagship gold assets in February, clearing the way to bundle its prime assets into a standalone company holding nearly 100 million ounces of gold. In April, Barrick said it had identified what it believes is the optimal structure for the separate listing, including a primary listing in New York and a secondary one in Toronto. Through the IPO, Barrick expects to accelerate momentum for operations that have been delivering strong results by giving North American Barrick a dedicated management team.
The new company will be anchored by Nevada Gold Mines, a major operation that spans a complex of underground and open-pit mines, mills and other facilities, alongside the Pueblo Viejo mine in the Dominican Republic and the wholly owned Fourmile discovery in Nevada, which Barrick calls one of the century’s most significant gold finds. Together, these core properties accounted for over 60% of Barrick’s total production last year, yielding roughly 2 million troy ounces.
The settlement news follows Barrick’s second-quarter results, when the company logged higher profit. Revenue rose 44% to $5.29 billion, largely due to higher gold and copper prices in the quarter. Net income rose to $1.22 billion, or 73 cents a share, up from $811 million, or 47 cents a share, in the comparable quarter a year ago.
Gold has benefited from strong central bank purchasing amid escalating geopolitical tensions, while copper has seen strong demand from tech investments into artificial-intelligence infrastructure build-outs such as data centers and electrical grids, as well as a global energy transition, according to the report.
Barrick produced 796,000 ounces of gold in the quarter, similar to a year earlier but ahead of its own guidance range. Copper production fell 5% from the prior-year period to 56,000 metric tons.