US stocks mixed, Jan. 20-24: Barrick, Fortuna, Coeur, Freeport-McMoRan

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.22% to 28,989.73 and the S&P 500 Index fell 1.03% to 3,295.47. Spot gold climbed US$14.90 per oz. to finish at US$1,571.60 per ounce.

Shares of Barrick Gold jumped US76¢ to US$18.71 on news the company had signed a deal with the government of Tanzania that grants the nation stakes in the three gold mines the company operates there. The arrangement comes three months after the two parties reached an agreement in which Barrick would pay US$300 million to settle outstanding tax and other disputes. The deal also includes lifting a concentrate export ban and sharing future economic benefits from the miner’s operations in the country on a fifty-fifty basis. In addition, the agreement ratifies the creation of Twiga Minerals, a company jointly owned by Barrick and the Tanzanian government, which will oversee the management of the miner’s local operations. North Mara, Buzwagi and Bulyanhulu mines, which Barrick acquired through the takeover of Acacia Mining in September 2019, are now owned 84% by the gold miner and 16% by the East African nation.

Fortuna Silver Mines rose 6.2% to US$4.11 per share. The company reported its two underground mines — San Jose in Mexico and Caylloma in Peru — produced 8.81 million oz. silver, 50,525 oz. gold, 45.60 million lb. zinc and 28.75 million lb. lead, or 12.4 million equivalent oz. silver in 2019. Cash costs were US$69.60 per tonne at San Jose and US$86.13 per tonne at Caylloma.

Coeur Mining rose US17¢ to US$6.03 per share. It reported 2019 production of 359,418 oz. gold, 11.7 million oz. silver, 17.1 million lb. zinc and 16.6 million lb. lead. Its Palmajero mine in Mexico was the company’s best performing asset, while gold production at its Kensington mine in Alaska increased 12% year-on-year.

Freeport-McMoRan fell US$1.03 to US$11.84 per share. It posted a net loss for 2019 of US$239 million, or US17¢ per share. The company reported consolidated sales last year of 3.3 billion lb. copper, 991,000 oz. gold and 90 million lb. molybdenum. As of Dec. 31, 2019, the company’s total debt stood at US$9.8 billion and it held US$2 billion in consolidated cash, with US$3.5 billion available under a revolving credit facility.