BARRICK Mining said it planned to repurchase $3bn of its shares in an effort to reward shareholders ahead of the proposed spin-off of its North American operations, later this year.
It follows a $500m repurchase in the final three months of 2025, part of chairman John Thornton’s drive to return capital to shareholders, said Bloomberg News on Monday. Barrick was commenting as part of its first quarter results in which net earnings of $1.6m were more than triple of year-ago levels.
Barrick said the buyback reflected exceptional value in its own shares, particularly in advance of the proposed New York listing of North American Barrick.
The spin-off would incorporate Barrick’s interests in its Nevada Gold Mines and Dominican Republic joint ventures with Newmont Corp, as well as the Fourmile project in Nevada, which Barrick has described as one of the greatest gold discoveries of the century. A preliminary assessment of Fourmile, released in September, indicated potential annual output of up to 750,000 ounces.
Barrick stated it could proceed with the IPO unilaterally, though relations with Newmont remain strained, said Bloomberg News.
Newmont issued a notice of default in February alleging that Barrick had diverted resources from the Nevada joint venture to advance Fourmile. Newmont has also called for operational improvements before any separation.
The strategic reset follows a turbulent period for Barrick, including the abrupt exit of long-serving CEO Mark Bristow in September, said Bloomberg.
Gold prices hit record highs during the quarter, averaging $4,673.5 an ounce, up roughly 63% from a year earlier, as investors sought safe-haven assets amid geopolitical tensions and growing expectations for interest rate cuts, said Reuters in its coverage.
Barrick’s quarterly average realized price for gold was at $4,823 per ounce, 66% higher than a year earlier. The company’s all-in sustaining costs, an indicator of cost of production, fell 4% in the three months ended March 31 to $1,708 per ounce.
Barrick’s gold production fell 5% during the period to 719,000 ounces.
But the company said it expects to ramp up output at its Loulo-Gounkoto mine in Mali and Goldrush mine in Nevada, US and improved mine sequencing across its Nevada Gold Mines operations in the next quarter, Reuters reported. It also sees increased production at its Kibali site in the Democratic Republic of Congo later in the year.
Barrick forecast gold output to rise to between 730,000 and 770,000 ounces in the second quarter and increase further in the second half of 2026, the newswire said.
