Aug 11 (Reuters) - Barrick Mining (ABX.TO), beat analysts' expectation for second-quarter profit on Monday, as a surge in gold prices helped the miner offset a drop in production.
Prices of the precious metal have been consistently touching record highs over the past few quarters, as uncertainty over U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff plans and geopolitical concerns, that could fuel inflation and slow economic growth, raised gold's safe-haven appeal.
Gold prices averaged $3,220.58 per ounce in the second quarter, over 12% higher than the preceding quarter and nearly 40% above levels seen a year earlier.
Barrick said its average realized gold price for the reported quarter rose to $3,295 per ounce from $2,344 per ounce a year earlier.
However, its production decreased to 797,000 ounces in the quarter from 948,000 ounces a year earlier.
The company's shares slid nearly 4% in premarket trading, hit by a more than 1% drop in gold prices on Monday that also pulled down other miners.
Barrick said it was forced to suspend operations in mid-January after Mali's military-led government blocked its exports for two months, detained some of its executives and seized three tons of bullion. It also launched arbitration at the World Bank to try to resolve the dispute.
In June, the Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex in Mali was placed under state control by a court in a major escalation of a dispute over taxes and ownership.
While drilling and other extractive activities have not yet begun, operations at the site's plant - which processes ore stocks into gold - restarted on July 7, according to sources.
For 2025, Barrick continues to expect total gold production between 3.15 million ounces and 3.50 million ounces.
The company said it repurchased 13.50 million shares during the quarter under the share buyback program that was announced in February.
On an adjusted basis, the company earned 47 cents per share in the second quarter, compared with analysts' average expectation of 45 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Reporting by Pooja Menon in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel
