BARRICK Gold more than replaced gold production in 2023 increasing gold reserves to 77 million ounces.
Commenting in the the firm’s annual report, CEO Mark Bristow said that since 2019, the company had organically added 29 million oz of attributable reserves which, on a 100% basis, represented 44 million oz of reserve addition across all Barrick-managed mines.
“Discovery and development are the true drivers of value and our strong focus on exploration is evident in our widespread hunt for new discoveries with Tier One potential as well as reserve replenishment opportunities,” he said in the report.
Bristow’s comments come amid a wave of global gold sector merger and acquisition activity which culminated last year in the $16.8bn takeover of Australia’s Newcrest Mining by Newmont, Barrick’s rival. The deal eclipsed Newmont’s takeover of Goldcorp in 2019.
Bristow has previously called for the consolidation of gold industry production but he remains critical of growth for its own sake. “This is one of the key qualities that differentiates Barrick from its peers. Barrick is not forced to buy its growth. This growth is organically embedded in our business but people underestimate this,” Bristow said in a February interview.
Commenting in the annual report today, Bristow said: “Our proven ability to replace the ounces of gold and pounds of copper we mine, and the organic growth opportunities embedded in our business, give us the confidence to believe that we can deliver on and continue to extend our 10-year gold and copper production forecast without dilutionary acquisitions”.
“As a result of this, we also continue to forecast an increase of more than 30% in gold equivalent production by the end of this decade.”
