Barrick Considering Spinning Off North American Gold Assets — Update

By Robb M. Stewart

Barrick Mining is considering spinning off its North American gold assets into a listed business, separating the operations from the miner's gold and copper mines in riskier parts of the world.

The proposed breakup marks an escalation of a recently-launched review of the Canadian miner's operations that put greater emphasis on the North American assets, which currently account for more than half of its gold production. It also comes after activist investor Elliott Management built up a sizable stake in Barrick, encouraged by the prospect the assets could be split.

Barrick on Monday said its board authorized the company's management team to explore an initial public offering that would house the North American operations, anchored by the Nevada Gold Mines and the Pueblo Viejo mine in the Dominican Republic, as well as Barrick's wholly-owned Fourmile discovery in Nevada. Newmont owns an almost 39% stake in the massive Nevada Gold Mines complex and a 40% interest in Pueblo Viejo.

If a breakup goes ahead, Barrick said it intends to retain a controlling majority interest in the new company, along with its various other assets globally.

Interim Chief Executive Mark Hill said an IPO of the North American assets could give shareholders more "optionality around jurisdiction" in a pure gold company that offers growth. "We are singularly focused on driving improved performance and shareholder value," he said.

Hill was named chief operating officer and interim leader in late September when Barrick unexpectedly parted ways with Mark Bristow, who had been CEO for nearly seven years since the company bought Randgold Resources.

Randgold, which was founded and run by Bristow for more than two decades, increased Barrick's focus on Africa. Bristow's tenure also saw Barrick exit a number of non-core assets even as it increased its emphasis on copper and placed big bets on developments including the Riko Diq copper and gold project in a district of Pakistan challenged by underdevelopment and a lack of infrastructure for the sparse population.

Barrick said management plan to explore the potential for a split into early 2026, and it aims to update the market on its progress with the release of its 2025 financial results in February.

Barrick, the largest gold producer in the U.S., has operations and projects in 18 countries and five continents. Its assets include six of the world's biggest gold mines.

Despite that, gold production has fallen even as the price of the precious metal has hit new highs, held back in part by a long-running dispute with the military junta in Mali that forced the suspension of its mines in the country at the start of the year. Last month, Barrick said it reached an agreement with Mali's government to settle the dispute that would see all charges brought against the company and its employees dropped, four detained workers released and for operating control of the Loulo and Gounkoto mines to be returned to the company. No details were offered on what Mali, which already owns a 20% stake in the mines, is expected to see out of the settlement.

Elliott, known for its strong-arm tactics in pushing for change at companies it invests in, has positioned itself as one of Barrick's top 10 shareholders, a person familiar with the matter has said.

News of its shareholding emerged after Barrick's Hill in November said the miner was emphasizing the growth potential of its North American operations and would seek to expand and not just replace the resources it digs up. That includes what Hill at the time said were plans to put a bias in exploration funding toward North America, rather than equally-splitting exploration efforts between the Middle East and Africa, Latin America and North America.

Barrick's shares climbed more than 4% in premarket trading in New York after the company announced it was considering an IPO of the North American assets. The shares have soared this year, including rally more than 50% in the last three months.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 01, 2025 08:45 ET (13:45 GMT)