ADVERTISEMENT

Business

Barrick Wrestles With Costs, Gold Output Amid Bullion Boom

(Bloomberg) -- Barrick Gold Corp.’s latest quarterly earnings show the gold producer continues to struggle to control costs and capitalize on the surging price of bullion.

The world’s second-biggest gold miner fell short of analysts’ expectations in Thursday’s third-quarter earnings report after spending more to churn out the precious metal at mines in the US, Argentina and Africa. Barrick shares fell as much as 3.1% in Toronto trading before trimming some losses.

Barrick is the latest gold producer to post underwhelming results in an earnings season where investors had anticipated windfall profits due to bullion’s rally to repeated record highs. Top producer Newmont Corp. saw its shares tumble last month after its earnings missed Wall Street’s expectations.

Gold is among the best-performing metals this year, surging more than 30% since the start of January. 

Precious metals producers have struggled with higher labor and energy costs over the past few years. Barrick said its expenses rose in part due to expansions and maintenance work at Nevada operations it shares with Newmont Corp., as well as its Pueblo Viejo mine in the Dominican Republic.

The Nevada complex has faced “neglected investments in infrastructure in the past, whether by Barrick or Newmont,” Chief Executive Officer Mark Bristow said in a Thursday interview. “We need to tend to that.”

The Toronto-based company has faced challenges in other countries including Mali, where the military government threatened to take back Barrick’s Loulo mine concession when the permit expires in 2026. Barrick “continues to engage” with the government on negotiations to keep the permit, Bristow said.

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.