Northern Nevada ‘far from being mature district,’ says Barrick’s Bristow

Northern Nevada remains highly prospective for new gold discoveries and is “far from being a mature gold district,” Barrick Gold (TSX: ABX; NYSE: GOLD) CEO Mark Bristow said in a release today, ahead of fourth-quarter results expected on Wednesday.

Barrick operates its 61.5%-owned Nevada Gold Mines joint venture in the region with Newmont (TSX: NGT; NYSE: NEM), which holds 38.5%.

According to the executive, resources at Barrick-owned Fourmile are expected to more than triple as the company advances the deposit. It currently holds 480,000 oz. in 1.5 million indicated tonnes grading 10.04 grams gold per tonne and 2.7 million oz. in 8.2 million inferred tonnes grading 10.1 grams gold. Barrick is considering starting a prefeasibility at Fourmile late this year.

Bristow said operational highlights of the past year included a record production by the post-merger Cortez and the continuing turnaround at Turquoise Ridge.

“The most significant development, however, was the completion of the Goldrush permitting process at the end of 2023. This enabled Cortez to accelerate the development of a key project which will already make a significant production contribution this year,” Bristow said.

The underground mine is expected to start ramping up production in 2024 after the commissioning of the initial project infrastructure and is forecast to produce 130,000 oz. in 2024 and grow to around 400,000 oz. per year by 2028.

Barrick and NGM have invested more than US$370 million in the project.

NGM completed the commissioning of the first 100 megawatt phase of its solar power project in the last quarter of 2023, with the second 100 megawatt scheduled to come on stream in the second half of this year.

Output lowest since 2000

However, Barrick’s gold production hit its lowest level since 2000 last year following a series of setbacks across its operations.

Maintenance and repair work at its Nevada mines, an expansion at Pueblo Viejo in the Dominican Republic and a prolonged shutdown at a major asset in Papua New Guinea all contributed to a 23-year low in total bullion ounces for the world’s second-largest gold miner.

Investors will be seeking insight into this year’s production outlook when the Canadian metals producer reports fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday.