Mark Bristow, the chief executive officer of Barrick Gold Corp., says he has no intention of buying Kinross Gold Corp., putting an end to speculation that the big Canadian gold miner was poised to pounce on its struggling competitor.
Barrick was among a cadre of big miners that tried to buy Great Bear last year in an brisk bidding war that saw Kinross emerge as the victor. Kinross inherited the Tasiast mine after its widely panned acquisition of Red Back Mining Inc. in 2010. Since then, Tasiast has fallen short on production and profit expectations over the years. Last year was a particularly tough year, with a mill fire severely curtailing production.
Mr. Bristow currently has a lot on his plate at Barrick even without considering M&A. Last month, the company announced it is moving forward on a US$7-billion new gold mine construction in Pakistan, alongside the Pakistan government. Barrick is also considering building the Donlin gold mine in Alaska, which it co-owns alongside Novagold Resources Inc. That project was last estimated to cost in excess of US$9-billion.
Barrick hubris