The average realized gold price was US$428 per oz., or US$1 higher than the average spot price, whereas in the first quarter of 2004, the price was US$382 per, or US$26 below the spot price at the time.
Barrick produced 1.1 million oz. gold at a total cash cost of US$248 per oz. That’s down from a year earlier, when 1.3 million oz. were produced at US$199 per oz.
Both the Goldstrike and Eskay Creek operations, in Nevada and British Columbia, respectively, mined lower-grade ore in the recent quarter, resulting in lower production. Goldstrike produced 432,102 oz. gold, or 39,472 oz. less than a year earlier, whereas Eskay Creek cranked out 54,805 oz., or 10,868 oz. less.
At the Pierina mine in Peru, production fell to 145,983 from 231,898 oz. between the two periods, while the average grade slipped to 0.026 from 0.049 oz. per ton.
Barrick’s 50%-owned Kalgoorlie operation in Australia produced 124,523 oz. in the first three months of 2005, compared with 102,212 oz. a year earlier. The Plutonic mine, also Down Under, produced 70,418 oz., down 12,430 oz.
At the Bulyanhulu gold mine in Tanzania, Barrick produced 73,374 oz., compared with 81,018 a year earlier. The shortfall, in this case, reflects interruptions to the power supply and problems with the hoist.
The company’s 70%-owned Tulawaka mine in Tanzania started up in the first quarter, during which it yielded 4,554 oz. gold.
Barrick has a lot of projects in the works, including two mines that are scheduled to enter production in 2005. The Lagunas Norte mine in Peru should be up and running in mid-June, and Veladero, in Argentina, is slated to start up in the fourth quarter.
At the Cowal project in Australia, prestripping has begun, but production is not expected until the first quarter of 2006.
Plans to mine Pascua-Lama, which straddles the Chile-Argentina border, are progressing, and Barrick hopes to have the environmental impact assessments approved by year-end.
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