Barrick expects deal opportunities in copper, but won’t pay premiums
Barrick Gold boss Mark Bristow expects deal-making opportunities to arise in copper amid a dearth of attractive new deposits, although for now it’s difficult to find value.
BHP Group has returned to major dealmaking in a hunt for metals vital to the shift to electric transport and clean energy. But many deposits that could be targeted are tricky and expensive to develop and mine, Bristow said in a telephone interview Monday.
“If you’re looking at copper, there are going to be some opportunities,” the chief executive officer said. “M&A right now is not easy to find value.”
After strengthening its balance sheet, Barrick is “always looking at opportunities” but won’t be paying above-market prices and has fared better with small earn-in deals that fall below the radar, he said. The Toronto-based firm’s intention is to focus on its own portfolio of projects, including a giant undeveloped copper-and-gold deposit in Pakistan.
While South Asia is a challenging place to operate, that’s where the large deposits are sitting at a time when the industry has shifted its attention away from the large, low-grade deposits of South America where authorities are looking to introduce more onerous rules, including tax hikes.
A proposed new royalty system in Chile, for example, “destroys the copper industry,” Bristow said. “You are basically wanting someone to come and invest in your country for no return.”
Besides Asia, the central African copper belt offers opportunities, he said.
In gold, Bristow said a decline in prices combined with higher production costs are exposing recent M&A transactions that were priced at a premium. While stress in the gold industry may spur more deals, buyers would have to take on a lot of marginal deposits in order to gain access to prized assets, he said.
Comments
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
South African leader in Steel -Racking, -Shelving, and -Mezzanine flooring. Universal has innovated an approach which encompasses conceptualising,...
VISIT SHOWROOM
FlameBlock is a proudly South African company that engineers, manufactures and supplies fire intumescent and retardant products to the fire...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
