Barrick Flags Retreat from Africa, PNG
Hill says miner is now delivering on its promises
Barrick Mining Corporation (NYSE: B) CEO Mark Hill says the company will look to focus on lower-risk jurisdictions, echoing recent comments made by executive chairman John Thornton.
In a March 27 letter to shareholders, Thornton said “we will reduce our exposure to today’s higher-risk jurisdictions, enhance the value of our remaining assets through disciplined investment and strategic initiatives, and strengthen the whole with targeted acquisitions”.
Speaking after the release of Barrick’s Q1 results on Monday, Hill said the company would try to focus its growth on more stable regions.
“Where we have more certainty around the mining regime and the ability to operate without a lot of interference,” he said.
“So, without going through the actual list of the countries, obviously you can see with what’s happened in Africa recently, which countries would obviously not be ideal for investment.”
Hill suggested Barrick would look to divest its stake in the Porgera mine in Papua New Guinea, a joint venture with Zijin Gold International Company (HK: 2259) and the PNG government.
“We have a minority stake in it at 24% and we obviously spend a considerable amount of management time on it, so something like that would be considered non-core at this stage,” he said.
“From where we are now, that would be where I end it.”
The troubled Reko Diq project in Pakistan remains under review and Thorton was in Islamabad on Sunday meeting with government officials.
Hill said the company was spending US$20 million a month on Reko Diq.
“Right now, we’re having issues with the contractors on site, and we’ve had several force majeure notices, so the first thing is we have to understand the contracting strategy and how we’re going to make this successful,” he said.
“Obviously, the other thing is, I just want to re-run the capital and see where we are with that, and if there’s been any large shifts in the capital, and once we get the answer to all that, I can make an informed decision.
“I know I’ve been criticised for being overly cautious, but I think on a project like this, it’s important for all the shareholders, including the ones in Pakistan, that we actually understand where we are so we can be successful going forward.”
Priorities progressing
Hill said the four priorities Barrick set out at the start of this year were advancing.
“The first is obviously safety. Our safety performance has not been where it needs to be, and we’re taking action to improve it,” he said.
Hill said Barrick had historically focused on total reportable injuries.
“The company led the industry on that one metric, yet it did not adequately address the risks that can lead to serious injuries and fatalities,” he said.
“In Q4 of last year, we shifted our focus to identifying and eliminating the risks behind serious and fatal events.
“In Q1 we saw this change begin to work. There was a meaningful reduction in significant and higher severity injuries and 63% of all injuries during the quarter were classified as minor reported lost time. Injuries also declined.”
Barrick’s other three priorities are operational delivery, growth and the IPO of its North American assets.
On the IPO, Barrick said it remained on track to be complete by the end of the year.
The company remains in “constructive dialogue” with JV partner Newmont Corporation (NYSE: NEM) over the performance of Nevada Gold Mines.
Hill said the improvements at NGM had come quicker than he was expecting.
He added the relationship with Newmont had “completely changed” and he was onsite at NGM with Newmont CEO Natascha Viljoen last week.
“We are on track to execute successfully against all these four priorities by year-end,” Hill said.
“Barrick, historically, has been criticised for not delivering on its commitments, so I just want to highlight that this is the second quarter that we have delivered on all of our commitments to our shareholders.”
Production beat
Gold production for the first three months of 2026 was 719,000 ounces of gold, ahead of guidance of 640,000-680,000oz, driven by strong performances at NGM and Veladero, and the ramp-up at Loulo-Gounkoto.
Gold production in the current quarter is expected to rise to 730,000-770,000oz.
Copper production of 49,000 tonnes was in line with plan.
All-in sustaining costs were US$1708 an ounce of gold, better than plan.
Hill said every US$10 per barrel move in the price of diesel would impact AISC by US$12/oz.
Operating cashflow doubled year-on-year to US$2.55 billion, attributable operating cashflow was up 89% to US$1.97 billion, and attributable free cashflow was up 195% to US$1.21 billion.
Net earnings jumped 238% to US$1.6 billion, or US96c per share, while adjusted net earnings were up 173% to US$1.65 billion, or US98c per share.
The company declared a US17.5c per share dividend.
Barrick also announced a US$3 billion share buy-back program.
“Since 2021, Barrick has returned US$7.9 billion to shareholders, including US$697 million in Q1 2026, and US$2.4 billion in 2025,” Barrick chief financial officer Helen Cai said.
“Our capital allocation framework is disciplined, flexible and designed to work throughout the cycle.
“It supports reinvestment in the business, advances growth, protects the balance sheet and creates a clear pathway for returning excess cash to shareholders.”