Barrick Gold Corp. chairman John Thornton speaks during company's annual general meeting in Toronto in 2015.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Barrick Gold Corp. will buy back up to $1.15-billion (U.S.) of its own debt, as the Toronto-based miner continues to deleverage in the face of sliding gold prices.
The offer, which expires on Dec. 29, follows on the heels of an earlier cash tender offer in October that bought back $834-million of Barrick debt.
The company began 2015 with $13.1-billion in debt, much of it accumulated at the height of the commodity supercycle. It has vowed to slash that mountain of borrowing by $3-billion this year.
The company has also been driving down its production costs as it grapples with a gold price that has slid from $1,300 an ounce in January to below $1,064 on Tuesday.
In a separate announcement, Barrick announced it has completed the previously announced sale of half its Zaldivar copper mine in Chile to Antofagasta PLC of Chile. It said the $1-billion proceeds of the sale will be used to reduce debt.
All told, Barrick has announced asset sales, joint ventures and partnerships worth $3.2-billion since the beginning of the year.
Ian McGugan