By Divya Rajagopal
TORONTO -The board of Canada's Barrick Mining has raised the possibility of splitting the company into two separate entities, one focused on North America and the other on Africa and Asia, four sources familiar with the company's thinking told Reuters.
A split could also include the outright sale of Barrick's African assets as well as of the Reko Diq mine in Pakistan, once it has secured financing, according to the sources.
In Mali, Barrick is looking to resolve a dispute with the
African nation's military administration before selling the asset, sources said.
A Barrick spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Interim CEO Mark Hill, asked on Monday about a possible split, said the company does not comment on speculation.
Talks are ongoing and nothing has yet been finalized, the sources said.
The plans, if they go through, would essentially reverse Barrick's merger with Randgold in 2019, and shed assets brought in by former CEO Mark Bristow.
The company's focus on North America, including Fourmile, a major undeveloped gold mine in Nevada, would ensure that Barrick does not get undervalued in case of a potential takeover offer, one of the sources said.
Fourmile mine test production is not due to start until 2029. Hill said earlier this week that the company would shift its focus to North America, prompting a ratings upgrade on its shares by analysts at Jefferies and elsewhere.
Shares of Barrick rose on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Friday following the Reuters report, closing up 3%.
Investors have said Barrick's shares are undervalued and have asked the company to find ways to take better advantage of a historic rally in gold prices.
Although Barrick shares have jumped 130% this year, in the last five years the company's returns have been lower than its peers, gaining 52% while Agnico Eagle has jumped 142%.
Investors had previously proposed that the company divide into one division with stable assets such as Nevada and Fourmile, and another with riskier assets in Africa, Papua New Guinea, and Reko Diq, one of the people said.
As one of the few gold mining companies with assets spanning multiple continents, Barrick's biggest risk has been mines in politically volatile regions, investors say.
Earlier this year, Barrick lost control of its most profitable mine, the Loulo-Gounkoto complex in Mali, leading to a $1 billion write-off. A dispute over the country's new mining tax code led to the seizure of 3 metric tons of gold and a provisional administrator taking charge of the mine. Four Barrick employees are still incarcerated by the Malian administration.
"There has been a view that there is a lot of value in Nevada," said one Barrick investor. If the Nevada mine were a publicly listed company on its own, it would be one of the world's largest-capitalized gold mining companies, the investor added, asking not to be identified as they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The company has resisted splitting in the past because without Nevada, this investor said, there is not much of value in its other mines. Barrick runs the Nevada gold mine in partnership with Newmont Corp .
In addition to Nevada and Mali, the company's other working facilities include copper mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo, gold in Tanzania, the Dominican Republic, and Papua New Guinea.
(Reporting by Divya Rajagopal in Toronto; Editing by Veronica Brown, Lisa Shumaker and Edmund Klamann)
