Gold Miner Plans to Cash In

It’s not just precious metals investors who are reaping the benefits of their holdings. A leading miner plans to capitalize on the spectacular rise in the value of the gold ore it extracts from the earth.

Barrick Mining is preparing plans to spin off its North American gold mines through an initial public offering that could be worth more than $60 billion. The Toronto-based company’s board of directors has unanimously given the green light for management to explore the IPO plan. It would package Barrick’s majority-owned Nevada Gold Mines (Newmont owns a minority stake) and its Pueblo Viejo mine in the Dominican Republic, along with the company’s Fourmile gold exploratory project which Barrick has described as “one of the century’s greatest gold discoveries.”

After industry-leading Newmont, Barrick is the world’s second largest gold miner. It produced nearly four million ounces of gold in 2024.

Barrick’s operations in Nevada and the Dominican  Republic are its leading mines, and the IPO plan would have Barrick retain a controlling interest in those properties. The company also operates across the globe, in Africa, South America, the Middle East, South Asia, and the South Pacific. Some of those operations have caused headaches for Barrick. The company recently agreed to pay $430 million to the government of Mali to regain control of its mine in the West African nation after a two-year dispute over claims of unpaid taxes. Barrick has also suffered in Pakistan where local opposition has delayed plans to mine gold, and in Papua New Guinea where Barrick in 2024 suspended operations due to conflicts between illegal miners.

Such challenges, which have weighed on Barrick’s stock price, point to the advantage of owning physical gold rather than taking on the risks of investing in gold mining stocks.