Pinnacle Silver & Gold Corp (TSXV: PINN)
Building a New Americas-Focused Silver and Gold Company
Barrick Gold (TSX: ABX, NYSE: B) and Newmont (NYSE: NEM) have resolved all outstanding disputes over their Nevada Gold Mines joint venture, a sweeping settlement that sees Newmont pay $1.95 billion and finally removes the last major hurdle to Barrick’s planned initial public offering of its North American gold assets. Newmont has formally consented to the separation, giving the long-awaited listing a clear green light.
Under the agreement, previously excluded projects — Barrick’s Fourmile and Newmont’s Fiberline and Mike developments — will be folded into the Nevada Gold Mines joint venture. Newmont will deliver the $1.95 billion payment within 30 days, and both sides have committed to enhanced governance provisions under a modernized joint venture agreement, putting an end to the prolonged friction between the world’s two largest Western gold miners.
The settlement arrived as Barrick released second-quarter earnings that fell slightly short of market expectations. Adjusted profit came in at $0.82 per share, missing the consensus analyst estimate of $0.88.
On the production front, Barrick delivered a stronger performance. Gold output rose 11% quarter-on-quarter to 796,000 ounces, comfortably above the company’s own guidance range of 730,000 to 770,000 ounces. The increase was powered by an earlier-than-planned ramp-up at Loulo-Gounkoto, a faster-than-expected recovery at Pueblo Viejo after scheduled maintenance, and record underground tonnage at Cortez as the Goldrush project continued to scale up.
Cost control remained steady despite external pressures. All-in sustaining costs stood at $1,866 per ounce, while operating cash flow surged 28% year-over-year to $1.7 billion. Barrick maintained its full-year production and cost guidance and lowered expected attributable capital expenditure to between $3.8 billion and $4.2 billion.
Against this mixed operational backdrop, the North American IPO has become increasingly urgent for Barrick. The company confirmed the listing is on track for completion by year-end, with Mark Hill appointed as chief executive of the new entity. Barrick first signaled its IPO intentions in December but only named the business’s leader on Monday, a delay that fueled criticism and frustration among some investors over the company’s direction.
Benoit Gervais, portfolio manager at Mackenzie and representing Barrick’s 10th-largest shareholder, has publicly called for Chairman John Thornton to resign, telling Bloomberg News that “it would be nice to have a graceful exit of this current chairman and have someone else come in.”
Thornton has led Barrick since 2014, first as executive chairman and later as chairman. During his tenure, Barrick shares have lagged behind rivals Newmont and Agnico Eagle, and the company slipped to third place among global gold producers last year. After pushing out longtime CEO Mark Bristow, Thornton elevated Hill to run the North American business. With Newmont’s consent now secured, the IPO is widely viewed as Thornton’s last window to reverse Barrick’s fortunes and restore investor confidence.
