TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Both the chairperson and CEO of Barrick Gold took a firm line on Wednesday in defending the company's C$7,3-billion acquisition of copper miner Equinox Minerals, but at the same time assured shareholders that the 'gold' in Barrick Gold is not going anywhere.

Speaking at the group's annual general meeting in Toronto, CEO Aaron Regent also dismissed suggestions that the company is risking the premium attributed to gold producers by adding more copper.

Around 82% of Barrick's revenue will still come from gold after the Equinox deal closes (compared with 90% at the moment), which is still comparable with or even better than peers like Newmont Mining and Goldcorp, he said.

“It's hard for anyone to suggest that we're not a gold company,” Regent said. “I don't think that multiples should be affected.”

Some investors and analysts are concerned that the company is blurring its focus on gold with the multi-billion-dollar copper acquisition, and Barrick saw its shares decline on both Monday and Tuesday after the Equinox deal was announced.

The stock fell again on Wednesday morning, but was back in positive territory by mid afternoon, up 1,1% at C$48,29 apiece by 14:37 in Toronto. The company announced a 22% increase in first quarter profit before markets opened.

During Wednesday's meeting, Barrick chairperson and founder Peter Munk insisted that the company had no intention of shifting its strategy away from being the top gold miner in the world.

“Let me just say to you categorically, and hear me loud and clear,” Munk said. “There is no one better and there never has been anyone better in the gold industry.

“It would be foolish, suicidal and totally wrong to our heritage and to what we believe in if we ever, ever contemplate for a single second letting go of our primacy in our gold industry.”

Barrick will continue "relentlessly" working to take advantage of rising gold prices and constrained supply of the yellow metal, he said.

“Who is so idiotic as to kill the goose that laid that golden egg? And some golden egg this is, so we are not giving it up."

EQUALLY FOOLISH

But Munk added that it would be "equally foolish" for the company not to take advantage of opportunities like the Equinox acquisition, which adds significant cash flow, without diluting shareholders, and can be financed at low costs.

"And we already have copper, and copper requires the same skills, the same know-how," he commented.

"Wherever we look today gold and copper go hand in hand," Munk said, noting that the main difference is that copper mines tend to have longer operating lives.

Barrick said early on Monday it had signed a support agreement with Equinox to buy the copper miner for C$8,15 a share, beating out an earlier offer from China's Minmetals Resources.

The deal gives Barrick the producing Lumwana copper mine in Zambia and a development project in Saudi Arabia that is scheduled to start-up next year.

Regent repeated comments made earlier this week on the company's positive outlook for copper, and reiterated that he took advantage of a "unique situation" when Equinox was put into play by the Minmetals offer. The company is also not diluting its shares to pay for the deal, he added.

But when asked whether he was more bullish on copper than gold, Regent was unequivocal in his response.

"Absolutely not," he said. "The outlook for gold and our bullishness for gold hasn't changed."

The company is "pretty positive on both", he added.

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