Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX.TO) (GOLD.N) is not actively selling its Tongon mine in Ivory Coast and the Massawa project in Senegal, but is considering several options for both, chief executive Mark Bristow told Reuters Monday.
“We don't have a sales sign,” Bristow said in an interview in Toronto. "We spend a lot of exploration money to prolong Tongon's life."
The comments came after the world's second largest gold producer reported quarterly adjusted net income, which almost doubled year-on-year due to higher production.
While Barrick has announced his intention to focus on the best performing assets and divest the rest, he also seeks to extract more from his mines by intensifying exploration around them.
The company is open to purchase land in the Tongon area to extend its life, or to sell the mine as part of a larger deal, possibly with Massawa, Bristow said.
Barrick also sees progress in the development of Massawa, but could sell the project to an existing infrastructure company to reduce it and acquire a stake in the acquirer, Bristow said.
Bloomberg reported last week that Barrick is considering selling Tongon. The company is preparing to sell its Lumwana mine in Zambia in the second half of the year, Reuters reported in May.
Barrick said Monday it plans to sell its 50% stake in the Kalgoorlie operation in Western Australia in the third quarter.
Kalgoorlie, Tongon and Lumwana are not among the Tier 1 mines Barrick wants to focus on.
The Toronto-based company has recently completed a number of deals, from the acquisition of Randgold Resources through a Nevada joint venture with the world's largest gold producer, Newmont Goldcorp (NEM.N), to take control of the Tanzania-focused Acacia unit Mining Plc (ACAA.L).
Bristow said Barrick had “a lot of work” to resolve a tax dispute with the Tanzanian government and increase productivity at Acacia, the acquisition the company is expected to close next month.
Barrick shares fell 0,3% on 23,87 CAD in afternoon trading in Toronto after having even gained 3%, compared to the 1% decline in the benchmark NYSE Arca Gold Miners.
Barrick reported to 30 in the second quarter. June adjusted net income of 154 million dollars or 9 cents per share after 81 million dollars or 7 cents per share in the previous year.
Barrick estimates that 2019 gold production will be at the upper end of the range from 5,1 to 5,6 million, and the total cost at the lower end of the range from 870 to 920 per ounce.
To the Barrick Quarterly Report 30.06.2019
Reporting by Nichola Saminather in Toronto and Shanti S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber, Nick Zieminski, Jonathan Oatis and Cynthia Osterman for Reuters Institute for Rare Earths and Metals
