Barrick Mining beats Q1 estimates amid soaring gold prices
Wed May 07 2025
Barrick Mining Corporation announced on Wednesday its financial results for the first quarter, revealing a net profit that surpassed the expectations of market analysts, according to a Reuters report.
This positive performance was primarily attributed to the substantial increase in gold prices during the quarter, which successfully mitigated the impact of a decline in the company’s overall gold production volume.
Investors reacted favorably to the news, focusing on the enhanced profitability driven by market conditions.
The report detailed the various factors influencing both the revenue generation through higher gold valuations and the operational challenges that led to reduced output from their mining facilities.
The company’s management provided further commentary on their strategies for maintaining profitability amidst fluctuating market prices and ongoing efforts to optimise production levels in their diverse mining operations across the globe.
Gold prices
Gold prices experienced a significant upswing in the first quarter of 2025, breaching the $3,500 per ounce mark.
This substantial increase can be primarily attributed to a notable rise in safe-haven demand.
Investors, seeking to protect their capital during periods of economic instability, increasingly turned to gold as a reliable store of value.
The optimism in the gold market was fuelled by ongoing trade tensions between the US and its trading partners, especially China.
These tariffs raised concerns about a possible increase in inflation, as the cost of imported goods could rise, leading to broader price pressures within economies.
Furthermore, the uncertainty surrounding trade policies cast a shadow over the prospects for global economic growth, prompting investors to reduce exposure to riskier assets and bolster their holdings in safe havens like gold.
Gold prices have seen significant increases, climbing over 27% in 2024 and adding approximately 30% year-to-date this year.
Outlook
Operations at Barrick’s Loulo-Gounkoto complex in Mali, the company’s largest mine in the country and a significant source of its gold production, have been halted since January. This suspension followed the Malian government’s seizure of approximately three metric tons of gold due to allegations of tax non-compliance against the company.
The company’s outlook for 2025 maintains its expectation for total gold production to be between 3.15 million and 3.50 million ounces, excluding output from Loulo-Gounkoto.
“We expect to update our guidance to include Loulo-Gounkoto when we have greater certainty regarding the timing for the restart of operations,” Barrick said.
Following its merger with Randgold Resources, the miner has been streamlining operations and intends to divest its Tongon mine in Ivory Coast and Hemlo operations in Canada.
Realisations
The company experienced an increase in its average realised gold price during the first quarter, reaching $2,898 per ounce compared to $2,075 per ounce in the previous period.
Concurrently, total gold production decreased from 940,000 ounces to 758,000 ounces.
Barrick’s first-quarter all-in sustaining costs for gold, a key industry indicator of total expenses, increased by 20.4% to $1,775 per ounce. The company anticipates a decline in the per-ounce cost for the remainder of the year due to increased production.
The company, previously known as Barrick Gold, reported adjusted earnings of 35 cents per share for the quarter. This exceeded the average analyst forecast compiled by LSEG, which anticipated earnings of 28 cents per share.
Source: https://invezz.com/