CANADIAN MINING HALL OF FAME ANNOUNCES 2022 INDUCTEES / 2 Geotech_Earlug_2016_Alt2.pdf 1 2016-06-24 4:27:20 PM
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Barrick shifting into growth mode says CEO Mark Bristow | Gold major underlines commitment to investing in Canada as it looks to bolster exploration and development
INTERVIEW
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BARRICK GOLD
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ince the merger of Barrick Gold (TSX: ABX; NYSE: GOLD) and Randgold Resources early in 2019, the new gold major appears to be completing a full circle under the leadership of Mark Bristow by increasingly prioritizing value-adding grass-roots exploration and development, he tells The Northern Miner. After kicking off a period of toptier gold-industry consolidation, the company has been focusing on “right-sizing” the portfolio, focusing only on Tier 1 and Tier 2 assets. But getting back to value creation through the drill bit is something close to the former Randgold Resources executive’s heart and an activity he is increasingly able to accomplish as most of Barrick’s operating assets are currently performing well. Bristow has been very vocal about his commitment for Barrick to remain a Canadian company and has been talking about the company’s commitment to secure a new top-tier asset in the mining-friendly jurisdiction since the Denver Gold Forum in September. “We remain Canada’s biggest gold mining company, and Hemlo remains our only strategic operation here,” says Bristow in an interview. “I’ve been very outspoken about my commitment to grow our portfolio in Canada. We’re very committed to doing that, but as you know, we are very focused on Tier 1 assets. “Since I coined the phrase ‘Tier 1’, the definition varies quite a lot. A Tier 1 asset is an asset that can produce 500,000 ounces gold a year, for more than ten years, at the lower
M&A
| Acquires stake in New Century Resources in Australia
Barrick Gold’s president and CEO Mark Bristow speaking in Argentina in October.
BY HENRY LAZENBY
Sibanye-Stillwater buys nickel-copper mines in Brazil for US$1 billion
half of the cost curve.” Bristow says implementing the Tier 1 strategy in Canada is a challenging task. “In Canada, of course, we have a Tier 2 asset, Hemlo in Ontario, which we would also invest in despite the lack of that 500 ounce per annum marketable inventory. Still, it gives about 200,000 to 250,000 ounces, for more than ten years, at the lower half of the cost curve,” he says. According to Bristow, Canadian gold deposits tend to be relatively
small and always “quite complex.” Hemlo is the smallest producer in the portfolio. Bristow describes it as a challenging mining enterprise. “When we did the Randgold merger, we looked at it because it had already been struggling and again, you know, what gave it a lease of life was the open-pit mine, which came to an end in 2020. “During 2019 and 2020, we reviewed See BARRICK / 5
BY CECILIA JAMASMIE
outh Africa’s Sibanye-Stillwater (NYSE: SBSW; JSE: SSW) is buying two nickel and copper miners in Brazil from private equity firm Appian Capital in a US$1 billion deal that boosts the company’s growing battery materials portfolio. The acquisition of Atlantic Nickel and Mineração Vale Verde from Appian is Sibanye-Stillwater’s fourth battery metal investment this year, and follows the purchase of a 50% stake in ioneer Ltd.’s (ASX: INR) lithiumboron project in Nevada in September. The precious metals miner said the transaction includes a 5% net smelter return (NSR) royalty, valued at about US$218 million, over potential future underground production from the Santa Rita mine, which CEO Neal Froneman said is one of the world’s ten biggest open-pit nickel sulfide assets producer. “The transaction represents a unique opportunity for Sibanye-Stillwater to acquire significantly pre-developed and pre-capitalized, low-cost, producing nickel and copper assets,” Froneman said in a press release. The deal comes as miners across the globe try securing supplies of the
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M&A: CALIBRE TO BUY FIORE AND CREATE MID-TIER GOLD PRODUCER / 6
metals used in batteries for electric cars and are key for the transition to a green economy. London-based Appian had acquired Santa Rita through the bankruptcy process of the previous operator, Australia’s Mirabela Nickel, and its Atlantic Nickel unit resumed production at the mine in 2020. Open-pit operations are expected to last until 2028, with annual production estimated at 16,000 tonnes of nickel-equivalent a year. Santa Rita could then be transitioned into an underground mining operation, extending the life of the mine from eight to about 34 years. Sibanye’s other acquisition target, Mineração Vale Verde, has just finished construction of the Serrote copper-gold mine, located in Alagoas, eastern Brazil. The asset is expected to produce about 20,000 tonnes copper-equivalent annually over 13 years. Appian, which put the two assets up for sale earlier this year, said the process had been very competitive, trigSee SIBANYE-STILLWATER / 5 PM40069240