Mark Bristow, CEO of Barrick Gold Co. speaks throughout an interview with Reuters on the African Mining Indaba 2022 convention, in Cape City, South Africa, Could 11, 2022. REUTERS/Shelley Christians/File Photograph
TORONTO, Aug 8 (Reuters) – Barrick Gold Corp (ABX.TO) is open to bringing in Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund as one in every of its companions in Pakistan’s Reko Diq gold and copper mine, Barrick CEO Mark Bristow advised Reuters in an interview on Tuesday.
He additionally dismissed a June media report that Barrick was in talks with fellow Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) on a potential acquisition as a “hearsay”.
Barrick Gold owns a 50% stake in Pakistan’s Reko Diq mine, with the remaining 50% owned by the governments of Pakistan and the province of Balochistan. Barrick considers the mine one of many world’s largest underdeveloped copper-gold areas.
Bristow mentioned Barrick will not be diluting its fairness within the challenge however “is not going to thoughts” if Saudi Arabia’s Public Funding Fund (PIF) needs to purchase out the fairness of the Pakistan authorities.
“There’s a robust relationship between Saudi and Pakistan and since we management the challenge now we have the primary proper of refusal,” Bristow added.
He mentioned that Barrick will help PIF coming into the mine by Pakistan’s 25% fairness stake.
Pakistan has not publicly acknowledged that it’s contemplating promoting.
Earlier this month Pakistan hosted officers from Saudi Arabia in a mining convention in its capital Islamabad the place officers of Barrick was additionally current. Barrick and Saudi’s state-owned mining firm Ma’aden collectively function a copper challenge in Jeddah.
PIF has been seeking to spend money on copper tasks internationally as a part of its drive in direction of funding power transition tasks. Earlier this month, PIF agreed to amass a ten% stake in Brazilian mining firm Vale (VALE3.SA) base metals enterprise.
Barrick, the world’s No.2 gold producer, considers sovereign wealth funds from the Center East as “severe”, long-term buyers to whom the corporate can promote its long run imaginative and prescient of rising its copper and gold enterprise.
Requested concerning the firm’s curiosity in First Quantum Minerals, Bristow mentioned Barrick will persist with rising its manufacturing organically and that its acquisition technique can be “measured.”
“Now we have folks suggesting us First Quantum… however our shareholders are gold bulls,” Bristow mentioned. “So I do not know the place that hearsay got here from, it was undoubtedly not us, however that definitely helped carry their shares up.”
Reporting by Divya Rajagopal; Enhancing by Mark Porter and Conor Humphries
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