Barrick Gold Sells 50% Stake in Australian Gold Mine

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Barrick Gold Corporation announced that it has reached an agreement with Saracen Mineral Holdings on sale of 50% stake in the Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines (KCGM) in Western Australia. The all-cash transaction is valued at $750 million. The Perth-based Sacaren was selected from among a large number of bidders for the gold mine asset.

The proceeds from the sale will be used to further strengthen the company’s balance sheet. Also, the company plans to deliver returns to its shareholders through strategic investments in future projects.

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Announcing the decision, Mark Bristow, President and CEO said that the sale of the non-operating interest in the Australian gold mine marks the first step in its plan to realize approximately $1.5 billion from disposal of non-core assets by end-2020. The sale will help Barrick to further focus on its core operations, he added.

The sold assets include a 2-mile long open pit, an underground mine and processing facilities located at around 600 kilometers east of Perth. KCGM is estimated to have gold reserves of about 6.9 million ounces. The remaining 50% stake of the Kalgoorlie Super Pit is owned by Newmont Goldcorp Corp.