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Pakistan has already chalked out a $1.9 billion funding plan to execute the Reko Diq copper and gold mining project. Total project funding has been estimated at $4.297 billion. Photo: File
TORONTO:
The board of Canada’s Barrick Mining has raised the possibility of splitting the company into two separate entities, one focused on North America and the other on Africa and Asia, four sources familiar with the company’s thinking told Reuters.
A split could also include the outright sale of Barrick’s African assets as well as of the Reko Diq mine in Pakistan, once it has secured financing, according to the sources. In Mali, Barrick is looking to resolve a dispute with the African nation’s military administration before selling the asset, sources said. Talks are ongoing and nothing has yet been finalised, the sources said.
The plans, if they go through, would essentially reverse Barrick’s merger with Randgold in 2019, and shed assets brought in by former CEO Mark Bristow.
The company’s focus on North America, including Fourmile, a major undeveloped gold mine in Nevada, would ensure that Barrick does not get undervalued in case of a potential takeover offer, one of the sources said.
