Strategically Driven Barrick to Deliver Sustainably Profitable Growth
Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:GOLD)(TSX:ABX) is projecting a 30% increase in production on the back of the growth options embedded in its asset portfolio,1 president and chief executive Mark Bristow told the Gold Forum Americas.
Bristow said the clean energy transition is creating an unprecedented demand for metals and minerals but the market’s demand for instant gratification is driving M&A, which is not always conducive to investment in sustainable projects but rather the delivery of short-term returns.
These growth projects are vital, not only for the resources needed for cleaner energy but for the development of emerging economies, Bristow said.
“Mining is a long game and it requires long-term vision and investment.” He also noted that Barrick owns and operates six of the world’s Tier One gold mines2 and is poised to expand this best-in-class asset portfolio through continuing reserve replacement and the potential for new world-class discoveries being pursued across many of the world’s most prolific gold belts.
“In 2019 our strategy for the new Barrick included a mandate to grow our copper business which we recognized as strategically important at that relatively early stage.
Once fully ramped up, Reko Diq and Lumwana will rank as two of the world’s top 20 copper mines by annual production sustained over significant multi-decade mine lives.3 If the forecasts of a copper shortage are even partly correct, this will give us a significant additional upside,” he said.
“We not only have a sustainable, fully budgeted 10-year base plan, we also have a growth plan that sees us increase production by 30% by the end of the decade, which I believe is unique in our industry,” he said.
