Part of our project is to highlight how Australia works with international companies, showing the linkages of business and the development of industry across the nation. We will highlight one company from a country that Australia has close ties to each month.
Barrick Gold is the world’s largest pure gold mining company, and yes, it’s from Canada.
Headquartered in Toronto, Canada it has offices and operation around the world in Australia, Africa, North America and South America. With strong figures they produce around $34,111,000,000 worth of gold every year.
Formed from a privately held company, Barrick gold went public in 1983 and is listed on both the NSE and the TSX. In 1994, they began to aquire other companies to add to its operationsal portfolio. Barrick now operates 8 highly profitably mines in Australia. Barrick’s Australia Pacific business alone unit produced 0.48 million ounces this Quarter. The results from their mining operations in Kalgoorlie and Cowal are both ahead of where their estimates had placed the project. This makes Australia one of the top priorities for the company going forward.
In 1986 they began to acquire other gold producers, solidifying their name as a pure gold operation. By 2006 they had become the 2nd largest gold mining and exploration company in the world. Since the beginning of the worldwide recession prices in gold have steadily increased with many finding stability in the gold markets. It is one of the gold industries’ leaders, if not the leader. With the largest unhedged gold production and gold reserves in the industry. They operate 25 mines worldwide, with 2 more under construction.
This year’s Q3 results showed strong growth resulted in record income for the quarter at $837 million, which was an increase of 75% over the last two years of reporting. In Q3 alone they produced 2.06 million ounces of gold with an estimated value of $454 per ounce. With lower costs because of low operating costs, Barrick has seen a larger than usual ROI.
“Operationally we had an excellent quarter, meeting our production and cost targets. Our project pipeline continues to be advanced and the focus on value creation opportunities has surfaced new investment and growth opportunities within our existing asset base. This will support our goal of producing nine million ounces annually within the next five years,” said Aaron Regent, Barrick’s President and CEO about the Q3 results. “The leverage we have to the gold price is also clear and is reflected in the 50% growth in our operating margins and in our record net income and operating cash flow.”
Barrack Gold has continued to develop on the cutting edge of exploration and mining technology. They have utilized aggressive expansion efforts but have endeavored to remain an excellent trading partner and conduct their business ethically; they have spent a large portion of their annual income in reinvesting in green initiatives and ecologically friendly practices. This year they have been named to one of the top 100 companies operating in the NASDAQ Global Sustainability Index. The Index is made up of companies that have taken a proactive role in disclosing their environmental efforts, their carbon footprint, energy usage, workforce safety records and diversity. Companies applying to the Index must also voluntarily disclose all their current and planned projects and their projected environmental impact. For the past three years Barrick has been listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, and has plans to participate in the Water Disclosure Project.
