Photo by: Newmont Corp
Having met all its key performance indicators in 2020, the focus of the Barrick-operated Nevada Gold Mines (NGM) joint venture with Newmont is shifting to the hunt for new discoveries and resource additions.
Barrick CEO Mark Bristow said on Thursday that unlocking the full potential of the Nevada gold fields – one of the world’s largest and most prospective gold endowments – had been one of the key drivers of the formation of NGM.
He said in a statement that an “intensive strategic review” by executive teams from Barrick and Nevada had confirmed the “enormous geological” prospectivity of the NGM properties.
“There are exciting opportunities for major new discoveries in the area between Turquoise Ridge and Twin Creeks, between Pipeline and Robertson in the Cortez complex, and in the Carlin Basin south of Gold Quarry.
“There are also good prospects of near to medium-term life-of-mine resource additions at North Leeville, Fourmile and Goldrush, as well as at the Ren project at the Carlin complex,” Bristow stated.
Barrick teamed up with US gold major Nevada to establish NGM in July 2019. In its first year of combined operation, NGM met the production and cost targets set out at the start of the joint venture, and did so despite the stress experienced as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The venture required the integration of multiple assets, including three tier on mines into a unified complex under a new leadership team.
NGM is forecast to produce between 3.4-million and 3.7-million ounces this year.