Nevada Gold Mines (NGM), established a year ago on Wednesday, has posted an exceptional performance in its first 12 months of operation, delivering real value to all its stakeholders, says Barrick CEO Mark Bristow.

Canada’s Barrick operates NGM, the world’s largest gold mining complex, and owns 61.5% of the business, with US major Newmont Corporation holding the rest.

In its first year of combined operation, NGM not only met the production and cost targets set out at the start of the joint venture, but did so despite the past few months of stress experienced as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Bristow said this was a significant achievement, considering that the merger had required the integration of multiple assets, including three tier-one mines into a unified complex under a new leadership team.

At the same time, the company has been working with the state of Nevada and its stakeholders to provide financial and logistical support to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on its employees, local communities and the state.  

“The new team was drawn from both legacy companies. It started with a clean slate in a fit-for-purpose structure, integrating the two bodies of knowledge to produce new models and fresh opportunities, and introduced a strong geological focus to the operations. It was the strength of the team and the structure, incidentally, that enabled NGM to deal so quickly and effectively with the unprecedented threat posed by the pandemic,” he said.

“By removing the fences that had previously separated geologically connected assets, mines and projects that clearly belonged together could be combined into larger and more efficient operations, with substantial savings as an immediate benefit. Even more important, this merger has created a platform from where we can see a bright new future for NGM as the leader of its industry in every respect: truly a case of the best assets and the best people delivering the best returns.”