TORONTO – Barrick Gold is not actively seeking to sell its Tongon mine, in Côte d'Ivoire, and the Massawa project, in Senegal but will consider various options for both, CEO Mark Bristow told Reuters this week.
"We don't have a for-sale sign" at Tongon and Massawa, Bristow said in an interview in Toronto. "We're spending a lot of exploration dollars trying to extend Tongon's life."
While Barrick has said it will focus on its best-performing assets and look to divest the rest, it is also trying to extract more from its mines by stepping up exploration around them.
The company is open to acquiring assets around Tongon from junior miners to extend its life, or selling the mine as part of a bigger transaction, possibly with Massawa, Bristow said.
Barrick is also proceeding with Massawa's development, but could sell the project to a company with the infrastructure to mine it and take a stake in the acquirer, Bristow said.
Bloomberg reported last week that Barrick is considering the sale of Tongon. The company is prepping the sale of its Lumwana mine in Zambia in the second half, Reuters reported in May.
Barrick said on Monday it plans to begin the sale process for its 50% stake in the Kalgoorlie operation in Western Australia in the third quarter.
Kalgoorlie, Tongon and Lumwana are not among the tier-one mines that Barrick has said it will focus on.
The Toronto-based company has undertaken a flurry of deals recently, from the acquisition of Randgold Resources to a joint venture in Nevada with the world's biggest gold producer, Newmont Goldcorp, to retaking control of Tanzania-focused unit Acacia Mining.
Bristow said Barrick has a "great deal of work" to resolve a tax dispute with the Tanzanian government and increase productivity at Acacia, whose buyout the company expects to complete next month.