Financial and Operating Highlights

 

Financial Results		Q1 2024				Q4 2023				Q1 2023
Realized gold price3,4			2,075				1,986				1,902
($ per ounce)
Realized copper price3,4			3.86				3.78				4.20
($ per pound)
Net earnings5			295				479				120
($ millions)
Adjusted net earnings1			333				466				247
($ millions)
Attributable EBITDA2			907				1,068				851
($ millions)
Net cash provided by operating activities ($ millions)			760				997				776
Free cash flow6			32				136				88
($ millions)
Net earnings per share			0.17				0.27				0.07
($)
Adjusted net earnings per share1 ($)			0.19				0.27				0.14
Attributable capital expenditures7 ($ millions)			572				660				526
Operating Results		Q1 2024				Q4 2023				Q1 2023
Gold
Production3			940				1,054				952
(thousands of ounces)
Cost of sales			1,425				1,359				1,378
(Barrick’s share)3,8 ($ per ounce)
Total cash costs3,9			1,051				982				986
($ per ounce)
All-in sustaining costs3,9			1,474				1,364				1,370
($ per ounce)
Copper
Production3,10			40				51				40
(thousands of tonnes)
Cost of sales			3.20				2.92				3.22
(Barrick’s share)3,11 ($ per pound)
C1 cash costs3,12			2.40				2.17				2.71
($ per pound)
All-in sustaining costs3,12			3.59				3.12				3.40
($ per pound)
Financial Position		As at 3/31/24				As at 12/31/23				As at 3/31/23
Debt (current and long-term)			4,725				4,726				4,777
($ millions)
Cash and equivalents			3,942				4,148				4,377
($ millions)
Debt, net of cash			783				578				400
($ millions)

Best Assets

 

∎

Barrick on track to achieve 2024 targets as Pueblo Viejo and Porgera ramp up

 

∎

Another strong performance from Loulo-Gounkoto and Veladero in Q1

 

∎

Costs expected to track lower through the year on steadily increasing production

 

∎

Pueblo Viejo completes conveyor rebuild, plant ramping up in Q2

 

∎

Porgera produces first gold, with plant ramp-up on track to reach capacity in 2024

 

∎

Another significant contribution from the copper portfolio with increasing production forecast through the year

 

∎

Reko Diq and Lumwana feasibility studies on track for completion by year end with long-lead orders expected to commence in Q3

 

∎

Focus shifts to Fourmile on the back of Goldrush success and exploration expands beyond brownfields targets

 

∎

Brownfields growth continues as engine for organic reserve replacement with encouraging drilling results at NGM, Loulo and Kibali

 

∎

Greenfield exploration, complemented by strategic partnerships, grows portfolio in the most prospective belts

Leader in Sustainability

 

∎

Continued focus on safety, refining our ‘Journey to Zero’ program with Group-wide rollout of Fatal Risk Standards

 

∎

Differentiated and holistic approach to sustainability reinforced in Sustainability Report to be published in May 2024

 

∎

Commissioned 50% of the 200-megawatt solar facility in Nevada — an initiative supported by U.S. government incentives of over $100 million, including incentives for U.S.-manufactured solar cells

Delivering Value

 

∎

Barrick’s focus on gold and copper production growth amplifies profitability in rising commodity market

 

∎

Operating cash flow of $760 million for the quarter

 

∎

Net earnings per share of $0.17 and adjusted net earnings per share1 of $0.19 for the quarter

 

∎

$0.10 per share dividend declared

 

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Operational highlights for the quarter also included the accelerated ramp-up of Goldrush in Nevada after its final permitting (Record of Decision) late last year. At the nearby Fourmile project — a potentially world-class asset 100% owned by Barrick — drilling for a prefeasibility study has started to drive it up the value curve. Exploration has identified open-ended high-grade upside at Turquoise Ridge in Nevada, already Barrick’s highest-grade mine, and at Kibali in the Democratic Republic of Congo, geologists have discovered a significant high-grade trend similar to the KCD deposit on which the mine was built.

Commenting on the results, president and chief executive Mark Bristow said Barrick’s ability to grow its gold and copper production from its peerless asset base would amplify its profitability in the rising commodity markets.

“Our focus on exploration has placed Barrick in the unique position of more than replacing the reserves we mine year after year. Our key organic projects, such as the development of Reko Diq, the extension of Pueblo Viejo’s Tier One13 life by more than 20 years and the transformation of Lumwana into one of the world’s major copper mines will secure Barrick’s production profile well into the future,” he said.

Barrick’s holistic sustainability strategy remains foundational to all aspects of its business and continues to deliver real value to stakeholders. Bristow noted that among many other

things, the Company had increased its water re-use and recycle rate to 84% last quarter, commissioned the first stage of a 100-megawatt solar array at NGM and had a 16-megawatt solar array permitted at Kibali. Power purchase agreements by NGM have avoided 75% of its emissions. On the biodiversity front, Barrick has a 730-hectare rehabilitation plan for its operating sites for 2024 and also aims to relocate 72 more white rhinos to the Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in conjunction with the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN) and African Parks.

Q1 2024 Results Presentation

Webinar and Conference Call

Mark Bristow will host a live presentation of the results today at 11:00 AM ET, with an interactive webinar linked to a conference call. Participants will be able to ask questions.

Go to the webinar

US/Canada (toll-free), 1 844 763 8274

UK (toll), +44 20 3795 9972

International (toll), +1 647 484 8814

The Q1 presentation materials will be available on Barrick’s website at www.barrick.com and the webinar will remain on the website for later viewing.

 

The dividend is consistent with the Company’s Performance Dividend Policy announced at the start of 2022.

The Q1 2024 dividend will be paid on June 17, 2024 to shareholders of record at the close of business on May 31, 2024.

“The continued strength of our balance sheet and our global asset base provide us with the ability to maintain the distribution of a robust dividend to our shareholders, whilst still ensuring Barrick has adequate liquidity to invest in growing our business,” said senior executive vice-president and chief financial officer Graham Shuttleworth.

 

Foreseeing the emergence of the metal’s critical importance to the greening of the global grid, Barrick made the expansion of its copper portfolio a strategic priority at the time of the merger with Randgold five years ago. A thorough review of its global assets highlighted two significant opportunities: the Lumwana mine in Zambia; and the dormant Reko Diq project in Pakistan.

The new Barrick team restructured and re-engineered the struggling Lumwana operation back to health and then embarked on a Super Pit expansion project which will transform Lumwana into one of the world’s largest copper mines, with a projected annual production of around 240,000 tonnes per year over a life of more than 30 years.14 It is a key component of the Zambian government’s drive to revive the country’s copper industry.

At the same time, Barrick revisited the Reko Diq project in Pakistan, which hosts one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits. Stalled at the feasibility stage almost a decade ago, Barrick revitalized the project through a reconstituted ownership structure based on its trademark partnership model. The Company owns 50% and will operate the mine, a number of Pakistani state-owned enterprises hold 25% and, at Barrick’s insistence, the remaining 25% is held by the government of the Balochistan province to ensure that the province and its people will receive a substantial economic benefit from the mine.

Both projects are on track for first production in 2028 when they will lift Barrick into the upper tier of copper miners and stand alongside its peerless gold asset portfolio as a major

contributor. It is worth noting that some analysts predict that gold and copper both appear to be entering a new commodity super cycle where demand outstrips supply, leading to high prices for years to come.

President and chief executive Mark Bristow said Reko Diq was a prime example of Barrick’s ability to recognize and realize value. “This is undoubtedly one of the best undeveloped copper-gold deposits in the world, with a truly unique combination of large scale, low strip and high-grade orebodies. Barrick has a long record of success in seeing projects of this magnitude through from construction to operation, and we also bring to Reko Diq our expertise in successfully partnering with host countries for the benefit of all stakeholders in developing jurisdictions globally,” he said.

“There is also an enormous opportunity here to further unlock value, not only at Reko Diq but also in the wider region, which is underexplored and highly prospective.”

Regarding Lumwana, Bristow said that well before the completion of its expansion program, the revived mine had already contributed almost $3 billion to the Zambian economy since 2019 in the form of royalties, taxes, salaries and the procurement of goods and services from local businesses.

As at its other operations, Barrick has also promoted the development of a sustainable local economy around the mine. Among other things, it has launched a Business Accelerator Program designed to build the commercial capacity of the contractors in its supply chain, equipping them to grow and diversify their businesses.

 

With 100 megawatts of energy-producing capacity in this first phase, the solar facility began transmitting power to NGM’s operations in April.

When the second and final stage is completed in the second quarter of 2024, adding another 100 megawatts of power, the solar array will have the capacity to produce between 15% to 20% of NGM’s annual power demand — reducing NGM’s annual GHG emissions by 8% and Barrick’s overall GHG emissions by 5% against a 2018 baseline. The U.S. government provided an important economic incentive for the development of this renewable project via a $35 million tax benefit (Barrick’s share).

NGM has committed to a 20% carbon reduction by 2025 which will be achieved through the TS Solar facility and the modification of NGM’s TS Power Plant providing the ability to use cleaner burning natural gas as a fuel source.

Up next at NGM is the development of an additional solar power facility with a battery energy storage system (BESS) to serve as a secondary power source, mitigating the impacts of power grid disruption, and enhancing renewable energy consumption during off-peak hours. The project has been awarded $95 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy following a highly-competitive process that evaluated potential clean energy projects on mine land across the country.

At Loulo-Gounkoto in Mali, the use of solar energy is also increasing with a 72-megawatt solar power facility and 38-megwatt BESS now connected to the complex’s micro-grid. Solar power accounted for 28% of the total energy blend used in the first quarter of 2024, which is up from 14% in 2023 and 9% in 2022. Energy costs were down $6 million in the first quarter with this shift to solar away from heavy fuel oil.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kibali’s three hydropower stations provided most of the mine’s power last year. At an average cost of $0.04 per kilowatt-hour, the hydropower blend is 90% cheaper than diesel fuel. The current expansion of the mine’s solar plant will increase the renewable energy use from 81% to 85%, with the mine running solely on renewal power during the six-month rainy season.

In Argentina, the Libertadores powerline is supplying renewable power to Veladero from neighboring Chile’s national grid, reducing GHG emissions and adding cost efficiencies. 2023 was the powerline’s first full year of operation — and it’s one reason Veladero exceeded its production guidance and beat its guidance on costs last year. A solar plant project at Pueblo Viejo in the Dominican Republic is also underway.

Barrick is targeting an overall 30% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030 (against our 2018 baseline) with the goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

 

Barrick, which owns 61.5% of the project through the NGM joint venture with Newmont (38.5%), is developing and will operate the mine, scheduled to reach commercial production by 2026 and growing to approximately 400,000 ounces per annum15 by 2028 (100% basis). The 24-year underground mine is expected to provide 500 jobs during its construction and employment for 570 people once operational.

More than $300 million of a $1 billion capital budget (100% basis) has been spent on the project, which is expected to generate substantial tax revenue for the state both in the form of net proceeds from minerals tax and the gold and silver

excise tax, earmarked for education. in Nevada under the new mine tax framework.

Speaking at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Bristow thanked the bi-partisan federal delegation and the governor for their active and unwavering commitment that was instrumental in obtaining the record of decision, as well as our community stakeholders for supporting the project through the permitting process. “We recognize that we have been entrusted with a tremendous economic and environmental responsibility and we look forward to sharing the benefits of this new mine with Nevada and its people,” he said.

 

The Barrick Academy is designed to offer tailor-made training programs aimed at developing Barrick’s frontline managers to grow both as individuals and as leaders in their fields, while equipping them with the skills to manage their teams more effectively and to improve performance.

The Academy will be training more than 2,000 foremen, supervisors and superintendents from the Africa and Middle East region in the next 24 months. Looking ahead, we are also gearing up to include our contractors and expand the curriculum to cover wider disciplines, including financial leadership, advanced computer literacy and safety courses.

The opening of the Barrick Academy follows the construction of an airport terminal at Buzwagi’s Kahama airstrip in January this year, which has paved the way for a scheduled airline service that can serve more than 200 passengers at a time. It is expected to be a major catalyst for economic growth in the region.

According to Barrick’s chief operating officer for the Africa and Middle East region, Sebastiaan Bock, the airport terminal and

Academy form part of Barrick’s plan to turn Buzwagi into a Special Economic Zone. A feasibility study commissioned in 2021 showed that the creation of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) had the potential to replace the mine as the region’s economic driver and could sustainably create 3,000 jobs annually, generate more than $150,000 each year from service levies for the local municipality and deliver approximately $4.5 million in employment taxes a year. The Government of Tanzania approved the conversion of the mine into a SEZ through a Government Notice that was issued in February this year. A number of investors have started the process of setting up manufacturing industries inside this area.

“How we close our mines is just as important to us as how we build and operate them. Our Buzwagi mine was a significant economic powerhouse in the region for nearly 15 years before it poured its last gold in 2021. From our perspective, however, that is not the end of the story for Buzwagi as we transform it into an alternative productive asset that will serve the community for decades to come,” Bock said.