Barrick eyes IPO of North American gold assets

Barrick Mining (TSX: ABX; NYSE: B) is weighing an initial public offering (IPO) of its North American gold assets as the Canadian miner deals with rising costs and operational challenges.

The board of the gold-copper miner unanimously authorized management to explore an IPO of such subsidiaries, while Barrick would retain control of the company, it said. The proposed unit would centre on the company’s interests in Nevada Gold Mines and Pueblo Viejo in the Dominican Republic, along with its wholly owned Fourmile discovery in Nevada. Barrick said only a small minority interest would be listed.

An IPO could offer shareholders more flexibility by creating a pure gold vehicle focused on stable jurisdictions, Interim CEO Mark Hill said.

The move falls short of the full breakup some investors have pushed for. U.S. activist investor Elliott Investment Management LP, which recently built a $1-billion stake in Barrick, has urged the company to separate its North American mines from higher risk operations in Africa and its large Reko Diq project in Pakistan.

Analysts at Jeffries said a standalone company would appeal to major gold producers such as Newmont (NYSE, ASX: NEM) and Agnico Eagle Mines (TSX, NYSE: AEM), noting it would be easier to acquire than Barrick as a whole because of its smaller size and the absence of non-core assets in difficult jurisdictions. The firm added that Barrick would likely demand a significant premium for any sale and is more inclined to keep drilling Fourmile to grow the resource before entertaining offers.

Barrick shares rose after the announcement, up 4.4% to $43.15 apiece in New York in pre-market trading and up 1.6% to C$58.43 in Toronto. The miner has lagged peers like Agnico over the past year amid investor concern about its exposure to jurisdictions including Pakistan, Mali, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania and Papua New Guinea, as well as copper assets in Africa and Saudi Arabia.

Rough year

Adding to its poor performance were the many issues Barrick faced this year, including a long-running dispute over its gold mine in Mali that forced a $1-billion write-off and the sudden exit of Mark Bristow as CEO.

Barrick said it expects to evaluate the plan through early 2026, and the company is to update the market on its progress at the company’s full year 2025 results in February next year.