Barrick’s third-quarter gold output to fall 11% y/y

During the third quarter, there was no production at the Porgera mine, in Papua New Guinea, after the operation was placed on care and maintenance in late April, amid a dispute over its mining lease.

Barrick and Papua New Guinea have since agreed that the gold major`s joint venture with China`s Zijin Mining will remain the operator of Porgera.

On a quarter-on-quarter comparison, and excluding Porgera, Barrick’s gold and copper production was 3% higher than in the second quarter of 2020, mainly owing to stronger performances from Carlin, in Nevada, and Pueblo Viejo, in the Dominican Republic.

Gold production for the first nine months of the year was 3.6-million ounces and Barrick stated that it remained on track to achieve its full-year guidance. The gold major in May trimmed its guidance by 200 000 oz to between 4.6-million and 5-million ounces, after Porgera was idled.

Meanwhile, Barrick reported third-quarter gold sales of 1.25-million ounces and copper sales of 116-million pounds. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, gold sales improved, following the export of the remaining stockpiled concentrate in Tanzania.

Third-quarter gold cost of sales per ounce would expected to be in line with the second quarter’s, while total cash costs per ounce would be 2% to 4% lower and gold all-in sustaining costs per ounce would be 5% to 7% lower.

The average market price for gold in the third quarter was $1 909/oz, while the average market price for copper in the third quarter was $2.96/lb.

Barrick would announce its quarterly results before North American markets open on November 5.