Barrick CFO Graham Shuttleworth
Global bullion producer Barrick Gold on Thursday announced that it had extended its undrawn $3-billion revolving credit facility by one year to May 2027, that it replaced LIBOR with SOFR as the floating rate mechanism related to the interest rate and that sustainability-linked metrics had been incorporated into the facility.
SOFR, or secured overnight financing rate, is a benchmark interest rate for dollar-denominated derivatives and loans that will replace , London interbank rate, or LIBOR.
The metrics were made up of yearly environmental and social performance targets, directly influenced by Barrick’s actions, rather than based on external ratings. The performance targets, Barrick said, included Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions intensity, water use efficiency (reuse and recycling rates), and total recordable injury frequency rate.
The miner could incur positive or negative pricing adjustments on drawn credit spreads and standby fees based on its sustainability performance versus the targets.
“The extension of the termination date of our undrawn credit facility, combined with our strong balance sheet, highlights the current strength of Barrick’s liquidity, while the establishment of sustainability-linked metrics, along with Barrick’s recently released 2021 Sustainability Report, continues to show Barrick’s commitment to ESG,” commented senior executive VP and CFO Graham Shuttleworth.
Barrick’s long-term credit is currently rated BBB+ and Baa1 by S&P Global Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service, respectively.