BARRICK Mining used its first quarter following the shock resignation of CEO Mark Bristow to unveil an operational review and to boost returns to shareholders amid record free cash flow generation in the period.
Barrick announced on Monday an increase in the base dividend and the share buy-back programme. These steps were on the back of a record $1.5bn in free cash flow for the three months in which the dollar gold price broke through all-time price highs.
“This allowed us to significantly increase share repurchases while also making progress on our key growth projects, maintaining our industry-leading balance sheet,” stated Barrick’s interim CEO and president Mark Hill.
Barrick will repurchase $550m more shares on top of the $1bn already announced, of which $589m were bought in the period. In addition, there would be a 25% increase in the base quarterly dividend to $0.125 per share.
A payout of $0.175 per share dividend was approved for the period under review, consisting of the higher $0.125 per share base dividend and including a further $0.05 performance dividend.
However, comments Hill made regarding an operational review – principally at the firm’s Nevada Gold Mines and the Pueblo Viejo mine Dominican Republic is among the most eye-catching of Barrick’s third quarter.
“We are singularly focused on driving improved performance and shareholder value, particularly at our Tier One gold assets in Nevada and the Dominican Republic,” said Hill. “This was a process started by Mark [Bristow] and it is my focus to continue that,” Hill commented in an interview.
“To this end, we have begun an operational review from the bottom up to ensure we are completely focused on delivering results safely and consistently going forward and we will provide an update with our year-end results,” he said.
Hill added, however, there had been “no change in strategy” regarding Barrick’s multi-jurisdictional strategy.
Previous speculation was that investors viewed Barrick as high risk owing to its exposure to certain jurisdictions in Africa, as well as Pakistan where the group is building the $7.7bn Reko Diq mine. “We are pressing on with that,” said Hill today.
The company has recently sold non-core assets, including the Hemlo gold mine in Canada for $1.09bn and Tongon in Côte d’lvoire for up to $305m, but a stand-off with the Mali government over allegations of unpaid tax has resulted in operations at the 578,000 ounce a year Loulo-Gounkoto being taken over by the state.
Barrick is reported to have neared a settlement with Mali on several occasions. However, Hill said that the priority was to first get Barrick’s four employees released from detention where they have been held since the dispute began in 2024. It was reported in September that prosecutors were appealing a court decision to have the employees released.
Mali detained the four Barrick staff in late November on allegations of money laundering and terrorism financing, including tax-related offences, as tensions over the mining operations intensified. Barrick has denied all allegations against its employees.
Barrick announced the resignation of Bristow after seven years as CEO in September without giving clear reasons. The group commented today it had embarked on a replacement, saying it was seeking an ideal candidate with “deep industry expertise” as well as “the ability to grow the business while delivering sustainable returns”.
Hill, who was head of Barrick’s Latam and Asia Pacific, was not desirous of the job. In addition to interim CEO, he had been appointed COO of Barrick Mining.
