TORONTO, April 05, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE: GOLD )(TSX: ABX ) (“Barrick” or the “Company”) says its merger with Randgold has accelerated the pace and increased the effectiveness of its progress towards its strategic goals.
In its Information Circular for 2019, which is available now at www.barrick.com/investors/agm and has also been filed on SEDAR ( www.sedar.com ) and EDGAR ( www.sec.gov ), Executive Chairman John Thornton said key strategic initiatives have already been launched and the Company expects to deliver on all that the merger promised by the end of the current year.
The Information Circular follows the publication of Barrick’s 2018 Annual Report, where newly-appointed President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Bristow outlined the steps already taken to achieve Barrick’s aim of becoming the world’s most valued gold business.
“We established strong regional executive teams in each of our three geographical zones: North America; Latin America and Australia Pacific; and Africa and the Middle East. Supporting them is a new corporate team with a mix of skills and experience which I believe is unequalled in this industry. The corporate office and its satellites are being restructured to move people and functions out of the backrooms and into the operations where they belong,” Bristow said.
“Operationally, mining plans are being shifted from a primarily cash-flow optimization base to a model focused on optimizing the orebody and the margins. To this end, there are now mineral resource management teams at each of the mines. At the same time, all our systems are being upgraded to give managers access to consistent real-time data to facilitate speedy and accurate decision-making.”
Also in the Information Circular, Lead Director Brett Harvey noted that since the announcement of the merger up until the completion of the transaction on January 1, 2019, the Barrick share price on the New York Stock Exchange rose by 29%, increasing the Company’s market capitalization by $3.6 billion. John Thornton delivered against all the objectives set for him in 2018 and this, together with the fact that he personally developed and executed the nil-premium merger with Randgold which strengthened Barrick’s position across all core metrics relative to its senior gold peers, is reflected in his incentive compensation for the year.
“Mr. Thornton was required to use a majority of the after-tax proceeds of his award to purchase Barrick shares, which he must hold until retirement, further building on his substantial ownership position of more than five million Barrick shares. He now holds 5,215,000 Barrick shares, nearly 29 times his base salary. Equally, our new President and Chief Executive Officer, Mark Bristow, converted his entire shareholding in Randgold to Barrick shares, and now owns more than five million Barrick shares,” Harvey said.
Harvey said following the merger the Board was reconstituted to consist of nine members with the diverse and strategically-relevant backgrounds required to address the global scale of the challenges, risks and opportunities facing the business today. Sadly, one of the directors, María Ignacia Benítez, has since passed on, and the Corporate Governance & Nominating Committee is currently searching for an equally-qualified female candidate to appoint to the Board.
The Company’s 2019 Annual Meeting will be held on May 7 at 10:00 a.m. (Toronto time) at the Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum, Tim Hortons Theatre, Brookfield Place, 30 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5E 1X8, Canada. A live webcast will also be available at www.barrick.com/investors/agm .
Enquiries:
President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Bristow +1 647 205 7694 +44 788 071 1386
Senior Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer Graham Shuttleworth +44 1534 735 333 +44 779 771 1338
Investor and Media Relations Kathy du Plessis +44 20 7557 7738 Email: barrick@dpapr.com
Website: www.barrick.com Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information
Certain information contained in this press release, including any information as to our strategy, projects, plans, or future financial or operating performance, constitutes “forward-looking statements”. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. The words “progress”, “goals”, “expect”, “deliver”, “will”, and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. In particular, this press release contains forward-looking statements including, without limitation, with respect to: (i) Barrick’s areas of focus throughout 2019, (ii) the Executive Chairman’s 2019 compensation level, and (iii) further changes to Barrick’s board of directors. These statements are based on the reasonable assumptions, estimates, analysis, and opinions of management made in light of management’s experience and perception of trends, current conditions, and expected developments, as well as other factors that management considers to be relevant and reasonable at the date that such statements are made. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of Barrick, as applicable, to be materially different from those anticipated, estimated, or intended. Forward-looking information contained herein is made as of the date of this release, and, other than as required by securities law, Barrick disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events, or results or otherwise unless so required by applicable securities laws.
