Big increase at Barrick's Tanzanian mine
Canadian Press
Gold reserves at Barrick Gold Corp.'s first gold mine in Africa have risen
by 40 per cent, Canada's largest gold producer announced Wednesday.
Exploration success at the Bulyanhulu mine in Tanzania has increased the
project's reserves to 10.5 million ounces, from 7.5 million ounces at the
end of 1999, Barrick said from a Denver gold conference. The gold
reserve level at Bulyanhulu is now three times what it was when Barrick
acquired the Tanzanian property in March 1999 as part of its takeover of
Vancouver-based Sutton Resources Ltd.
"This property is proving to be a great acquisition, exceeding our high
expectations," said Randall Oliphant, president and chief executive of
Barrick, one of the world's major gold companies with operations in
Canada, the United States, South America and Tanzania.
"In addition to already tripling reserves, we see the possibility of doubling
production from our initial estimate of 400,000 ounces a year."
The Toronto company said it expects even further increases in the
African project's reserves at the end of this year. It's planning the next
phase of expansion, which would increase production at the mine in the
near-term to 500,000 ounces a year from 400,000 ounces.
Cash-rich Barrick has been solidifying its base in Africa in the last year,
developing Bulyanhulu with a $280-million (U.S.) investment that should
bring the property into production by early 2001. It acquired the project
— expected to be one of the world's lowest-cost gold mines — after
paying $281-million to take over Sutton Resources, a Vancouver junior
explorer.
In addition to Bulyanhulu, Barrick is also developing two new major
mines that should help the company expand production to five million
ounces by 2003 from an expected 3.7 million ounces this year.
The new projects are the Pascua-Lama mine in Chile and Argentina, and
the Rodeo mine on Barrick's lucrative Goldstrike property in Nevada,
which currently produces about 60 per cent of the company's annual
production.
Barrick stock rose five cents to $22.45 in trading of 372,000 shares on
the Toronto stock market Wednesday. |
