Barrick Gold has announced its intentions to grow its copper business through mergers and acquisitions.
The company has projected a 30 per cent increase in production on the back of the growth options embedded in its asset portfolio.
President and chief executive Mark Bristow said the clean energy transition has created an unprecedented demand for metals, leading to more mergers and acquisitions (M&A).
“Mining is a long game and it requires long-term vision and investment,” Bristow said.
“In 2019 our strategy for the new Barrick included a mandate to grow our copper business which we recognized as strategically important at that relatively early stage.
“Once fully ramped up, Reko Diq and Lumwana will rank as two of the world’s top 20 copper mines by annual production sustained over significant multi-decade mine lives.
“If the forecasts of a copper shortage are even partly correct, this will give us a significant additional upside.
“We not only have a sustainable, fully budgeted 10-year base plan, we also have a growth plan that sees us increase production by 30 per cent by the end of the decade, which I believe is unique in our industry.”
Barrick operates the Porgera gold mine in PNG which is currently on the path to restart.
