Barrick Gold Faces Challenges to Develop Latin America Mines
- Gold giant wants to bring down expenses after Randgold merger
- The Veladero mine in Argentina is the company’s highest-cost
Photographer: Carla Gottgens/Bloomberg
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Just seven weeks into the job, Barrick Gold Corp.’s new boss has already discovered, first hand, the challenges of developing and mining giant deposits in Latin America.
Barrick’s main project, the Veladero joint venture with Shandong Gold in Argentina, isn’t performing like a tier one asset, Mark Bristow said on Wednesday. In 2019, Veladero is expected to have the highest cost per ounce in Barrick’s portfolio. He also cited projects in the El Indio belt straddling the Argentina-Chile border, and Alturas in Chile, as high-cost efforts.