Barrick's Fourmile Steals the Show
Barrick’s Fourmile showstopper: tier-one scale, single-refractory metallurgy, and close to existing assets and infrastructure.
The market anticipated that Barrick’s Hemlo transaction and chatter about Tether’s investment into gold bullion and royalty EMX/Elemental-Altus would dominate Mining Forum Americas 2025. However, Barrick CEO Mark Bristow’s flair for drama and timing ensured that its splashy Fourmile project grabbed all the headlines and attention.
As a result, Barrick was the largest absolute gainer at Mining Forum Americas, adding $768 million to its market cap from Friday, September 12, to the close of trade on Wednesday, September 17, 2025.
“Quite simply … the greatest gold discovery of this century … 100% Barrick-owned … a truly generational project.” Bristow
WATCH BARRICK’S PRESENTATION AT MINING FORUM AMERICAS 2025
Bristow framed Fourmile as a once-in-a-generation Nevada discovery—but in the context of a self-funded growth plan, not a bet-the-company moonshot. Mark Bristow’s message to the Mining Forum leaned hard on discipline and durability: “Very few projects anywhere in the world today can offer this combination of grade, scale and cash flow… Fourmile is one of those rare discoveries that has the potential to reset the industry cost curve.” Barrick Mining Corporation
“Our growth is organic… and of course Fourmile,” Bristow told the room, emphasizing that Barrick has been growing and returning cash at the same time—without raising equity or taking on new debt.
Why it matters
From the podium and slides, Fourmile was threaded explicitly into Barrick’s “growth wedge”—Pueblo Viejo, Goldrush, Lumwana, and Reko Diq—targeting ~30% growth in GEOs by 2029, under the same capital-returns framework.
Barrick also provided updated figures regarding its balance-sheet capacity to do this while still paying shareholders. Q2 2025 highlights included $4.8B cash, net cash of $73M, $268M buybacks in the quarter, and $6.7B returned to shareholders since 2019.
“Very few projects elsewhere in the world can offer this combination of grade, scale, and cash flow. Four Mile is one of those rare discoveries that can reset the cost curve.” Bristow and Mining Forum Americas 2025
What the updated Fourmile PEA adds
Barrick’s September 16, 2025 release backs up the on-stage narrative with an updated PEA that is preliminary and includes inferred resources (no reserves)—but nevertheless outlines Tier One-caliber potential: average ~600–750 koz/yr at ~1.5–1.8 Mtpa for >25 years, with initial capex ~$1.5–1.7B, cost of sales ~$850–900/oz, and LOM AISC of a jaw-droppingly low ~$650–750/oz. The study uses the August 2025 long-term consensus gold price of ~$2,585/oz (~$3,700/oz today).
Fourmile is 100% Barrick-owned, with potential contribution to the Nevada Gold Mines joint venture with Newmont “at fair-market value”.
Developing 4 Mile requires mine development only, not new processing infrastructure. That’s a huge advantage in cost, in risk, and in speed to production. Bristow
Why the orebody stands out
Bristow underscored what separates Fourmile from nearby Carlin-style systems: unlike Goldrush (largely double refractory - difficult to process using standard extraction methods because the gold is tightly encapsulated within sulphide minerals or carbonaceous materials), a significant portion of Fourmile mineralization is single refractory, enabling more flexible, lower-cost processing across existing NGM facilities. Sitting inside the Carlin–Cortez complex shrinks capital intensity and shortens the path to cash flow.
Geologically, Barrick highlights a steeply dipping, strongly silicified breccia domain with favorable rock mass for multiple large-scale stoping fronts—and notes that this higher-grade domain is currently modeled to comprise ~80% of the 2.4 km mineralized extent. The MFA25 slide deck’s significant intercepts give color to the grade profile (e.g., 24.7 m @ 62.23 g/t TW 20.0 m; 18.4 m @ 59.42 g/t TW 15.2 m), all reported under NI 43-101 QA/QC protocols.
A rare discovery that can reset the cost curve.
How it turns into cash, dividends, and multiple expansion
Rig ramp & conversion drilling: ramp from 16 to >20 surface rigs; ~120 km directional surface drilling planned in 2026; ~370 km surface + 80 km underground targeted by end-2028 (with ~30–35 m indicated / 80–90 m inferred spacing).
Underground access: Bullion Hill exploration decline permitting is advancing; portal & UG development targeted for 2026. Goldrush development approaches the boundary to enable UG drill access into Fourmile from 2027.
2029 setup: ~34 km of development linking Bullion Hill with the Goldrush multi-purpose access, test stoping shortly after. As Fourmile ramps, Barrick expects it to displace ~1.8 g/t NGM stockpile feed, improving the blended cost profile.
What to watch
Guidance mechanics: Barrick’s five-year indicative outlook excludes Fourmile, a useful reminder not to double-count it in medium-term models until study gates are passed.
Study gates: The PEA is preliminary and includes inferred ounces; the company reiterates that outcomes are uncertain and subject to change as PFS/FS work advances.
Funding stance: Management continues to pair growth with buybacks/dividends out of a net-cash position—an explicit constraint against equity raises while Fourmile advances.
The bottom line
Taking from Bristow's stage remarks, Fourmile is centered on execution, not aspiration—a high-grade orebody strategically located in the heart of Nevada’s best infrastructure, featuring single-refractory metallurgy that should reduce costs and accelerate payback. The updated PEA supplies credible scale and cost ranges; the deck lays out a 2026–2029 path from conversion drilling to test stopes; and Barrick’s balance-sheet posture supports the promise of self-funded delivery. If drilling, permitting, and engineering continue to track, the project has the ingredients to evolve into a Tier One mine.
Notes on data & sourcing: Drill intervals and QA/QC come from Barrick’s MFA25 presentation deck; quotes and study metrics come from Barrick’s Sept 16, 2025 press release; growth/returns and capital metrics are from the same deck’s Q2 2025 and capital-returns slides. Quotes come from Mark Bristow’s presentation at Mining Forum Americas 2025, 14-17 September, Broadmoor Resort and Hotel, Colorado Springs, Colorado