News Bites
Barrick CEO: Gold’s real rally hasn't even come yet; Mark Bristow on Q2 results, forward guidance
(Kitco News) - Mark Bristow, CEO of Barrick Gold, discusses with David Lin, anchor for Kitco News, why our current environment may be similar to that of 2008's, when gold initially lagged and then spiked three years later.
"I always take people back to 2008, 2009, the Global Financial Crisis, all those troubles. The market didn't really react to that because it was desperate to see us come out of it before we really appreciate the damage that it had made. It was only 2011 when we saw everyone react to the damage, and of course the gold price went up and it stayed up until past 2013," Bristow said. "I think we're finding the same thing now."
Monday, Barrick Gold released second quarter financial results and reported revenues of $2.89 billion in the second quarter of 2021, down from $3.055 billion in the same period a year ago.
Of the $2.89 billion in total sales in Q2, $2.5 billion was gold sales, while $234 million was copper, or roughly 10% of sales.
Bristow said that the company plans to expand copper production to about 20% of the business to meet the demands of the electrification of the economy and as gold deposits get bigger in scale.
"It should, over time, represent 20% of our business. What I'm really focused on is how do I improve the quality of that part of that business. Copper is a very key component. Also, to remain relevant as a gold company, you've got to go for bigger and bigger gold deposits. When you move into what we call the porphyry deposits, more copper comes with gold," he said.
On growth of assets, Bristow said that he prefers "organic growth", meaning in-house exploration as opposed to the acquisition of junior miners.
For more information on Barrick Gold's Q2 financial results and Bristow's forward guidance on production, watch the video above. Follow David Lin on Twitter: @davidlin_TV.
