Barrick Gold
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Barrick Gold Corporation
Barrick logo.svg
Public company
Traded as TSX: ABX
NYSE: ABX
S&P/TSX 60 component
Industry Metals and Mining
Founded 1983; 35 years ago
Founder Peter Munk
Headquarters Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Key people
John L. Thornton
(Executive Chairman since September 16, 2014)
Kelvin Dushnisky
(President)
Products Gold
Silver
Copper
Revenue Decrease$8,558.00 million (2016)
Operating income
Increase$2,424.30 million (2016)
Net income
Increase$655.00 million (2016)[1]
Website www.barrick.com
Barrick Gold Corporation is the largest gold mining company in the world, with its headquarters in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.[2] The company has mining operations in Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Saudi Arabia, the United States and Zambia.[3] More than 75% of Barrick’s gold production comes from the Americas region[4]. In 2016, it produced 5.52 million ounces of gold at all-in sustaining costs of US $798/ounce and 415 million pounds of copper at all-in sustaining costs of $2.05/pound[5]. As of December 31, 2016, the company had 85.9 million ounces of proven and probable gold reserves[6].
Founding and early years
Barrick Gold Corporation evolved from a privately held North American oil and gas company,[7]
Barrick Resources.[8] After suffering financial losses in oil and gas,[9] founder Peter Munk decided to refocus the company on gold.[10] He saw an opportunity to create a gold company based in North America, at a time when Apartheid-era sanctions prevented North American investors from owning shares in South African gold companies, who dominated the industry at that time [11]. Barrick Resources Corporation became a publicly traded company on May 2, 1983,[12] listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange.[13]
The company’s first acquisition was the Renabie mine, near Wawa, Ontario,[14]. In 1984, Barrick acquired Camflo Mining,[15] which had operations in the province of Quebec[16] and in the U.S. state of Nevada.[17] The company continued to grow with the acquiring of the Mercur mine in Mercur, Utah in June 1985[18] followed by the Goldstike mine in Nevada in 1986[19]. Goldstrike mine is located on the Carlin Trend.
1986 to 2005[edit]
Reflecting its identity as a North American producer, distinct from its South African competitors, the company’s name was changed to American Barrick Resources in 1986.[20] It was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in February 1987.[21] Its name was later changed to Barrick Gold Corporation in 1995.[22]
American Barrick became the third-largest gold mining company in the world when it acquired Lac Minerals in 1994, which owned mining properties in North and South America.[23] Two years later, in 1996, Arequipa Resources, owner of properties including the Pierina mine in Peru, accepted a takeover offer from the renamed Barrick Gold Corporation. A third acquisition followed in early 1999, when Barrick Gold acquired Sutton Resources Ltd., assuming ownership of properties in Tanzania.[24] In 2001, Barrick acquired Homestake Mining Company for $2.3 billion in stock, then one of the oldest mining companies in the United States.[25] The purchase made Barrick the second-largest gold producer in the world.[25]
Placer Dome acquisition[edit]
On October 31, 2005, Barrick launched an unsolicited takeover bid valued at US$9.2 billion for rival Canadian gold miner Placer Dome[26]. Placer Dome initially recommended shareholders reject the offer.[27] In December, Placer Dome’s board of directors accepted an increased offer from Barrick worth US$10.4 billion.[28] The transaction closed in early 2006, making Barrick the world’s largest gold producer.[29]
2006 to present[edit]
Barrick launched what was then the largest stock offering in Canadian history in 2009,[30] when it launched a $3 billion equity offering, which was increased the following day to $3.5 billion in response to market demand.[31] Proceeds from the offering were used to eliminate the company’s gold hedges, which locked in the sale price of future production, rather than selling it at market prices.