Barrick Is Cashing In on Gold’s Record Rally With Asset Sales

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(Bloomberg) — For Barrick Gold Corp., one of the world’s top bullion producers, the precious metal’s blistering rally to record prices is looking like a great opportunity to raise some cash as the company looks to pivot harder into copper mining. 

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First, the company announced on Tuesday that it’s exiting an Alaskan mining project by selling its 50% stake to billionaire John Paulson and Novagold Resources Inc. for $1 billion. Meanwhile, Barrick has also signaled more deals on the horizon as it seeks buyers for mines in Africa and North America. 

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The strategy follows a time-tested playbook that runs its course when prices of the precious metal surge: Sell smaller, aging gold mines at a time when they’re likely to fetch much better prices than normal. Barrick’s stake in the Alaska project sold for well above Toronto-Dominion Bank’s $600 million valuation for the investment. Newmont Corp., the world’s largest gold producer, generated $4.3 billion on asset sales earlier this year — blowing past its initial projections of about $2 billion as bullion prices climbed.

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Shedding those assets allows miners like Barrick to focus on major, so-called “Tier 1” mines that deliver the bulk of the company’s revenue, while freeing up cash to pursue expensive development projects elsewhere. Barrick is forging ahead on ambitious projects in Africa and Asia, with a $6 billion copper project in Pakistan and a Zambian mine expansion that could make it one of the largest in the world.

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The mines that Barrick is looking to sell, meanwhile, generate increasingly little for the company. It retained bankers to find buyers for Tongon, a small gold mine in the Ivory Coast, last year, and did the same for Hemlo, its last gold mine in Canada, in April. Those two mines combine for less than 10% of Barrick’s overall production. 

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“Mining companies often say it’s just as hard to run a mine that produces 200,000 ounces as it is to run a mine with 500,000 ounces,” said Carey MacRury, metals and mining analyst with Canaccord Genuity. “And what Barrick wants is world-class, giant ore bodies that can last for decades.”

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The divestment push comes at a time of transition for the world’s No. 2 gold miner.

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Toronto-headquartered Barrick has signaled a pivot away from gold mining, with plans to spend heavily on copper projects. It’s even proposed changing the company name from Barrick Gold to Barrick Mining. Chief Executive Officer Mark Bristow has talked for years about expanding in copper, even weighing takeovers of producers Freeport-McMoRan Inc. and First Quantum Minerals Ltd., though they never came to pass.

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If Newmont’s divestment push last year serves as a guide, finding buyers in a bullion bull market shouldn’t be tough. Barrick’s rival sold six small, aging gold mines last year to a handful of gold miners who paid more than Newmont anticipated. 

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The first sign Barrick has found similar interest came on Tuesday, when the firm said it reached an agreement with hedge-fund manager Paulson and Novagold Resources to sell its stake in Alaska’s Donlin project. 

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“It came to our attention late last year that Barrick wanted to sell their stake,” Paulson said in an interview. “And that was opportune for us. Barrick’s focused on other projects around the world, and is pivoting more to copper, but we’re looking to increase our exposure to gold.”

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