MARK Bristow has stepped down as CEO Barrick Mining Corp. with immediate effect, the Toronto-listed company announced on Monday.
He will replaced by Mark Hill, head of Barrick’s Latam and Asia Pacific regions on an interim basis while the company finds a permanent replacement. Hill will also fill the functions of COO and president at Barrick.
“The board is committed to both finding the right leader to fully capitalize on Barrick’s world-class assets and capabilities,” said John Thornton, non-executive chairman of Barrick in a statement.
Bristow’s departure from Barrick comes on the same day Newmont announced the retirement of its CEO, Tom Palmer. As was largely expected, he will be replaced by Natascha Viljoen, Newmont’s COO since May and former CEO of Anglo American Platinum.
Bristow leaves Barrick after seven years in the role, a position he took following the merger of his Randgold Resources with the Canadian firm.
While Barrick was known to be advancing its executive succession strategy, today’s announcement is a major shock if only because the transition is not orderly with a permanent replacement for Bristow yet to be found.
Bristow himself said he planned to step down only in 2028. “Let me tell you something, three years is not a long time,” he told one analyst in May of his stated retirement date. “Not in a business like Barrick.” If a process was in place, his retirement might conceivably be sooner, he added. Bristow is 66 years old.
He also batted back a report by the Globe & Mail that he would be out of the company by 2026. “Absolute bullshit,” he told Miningmx.
Shares in Barrick were up 0.64% taking year-to-date gains 115% higher, largely owing to record gold prices. Bullion recently punched through $3,800/oz, and is currently at $3,823/oz.
Despite gold’s performance, Barrick has had a difficult 12 months owing to a dispute with Mali over its claims of unpaid tax and a refusal by Bristow to sign up to the country’s new mining code.
The outcome of the confrontation is that Loulo-Gounkoto, the 578,000 ounce a year (2024) mine in Mali, has been effectively shut down. Mali also arrested four employees making for a situation Bristow described as his most difficult to manage in his more than 30 year career.
The company has also been battling against cost inflation while eyebrows have been raised regarding new projects including Reko Diq, a gold/copper prospect in northern Pakistan. Reko Diq and the expansion of Lumwana, a copper mine in Zambia were projects Bristow said he was keen on commissioning before stepping down.
