Boston, MA 07/07/2014 (wallstreetpr) – Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX) gained 0.55 percent on Friday on the back of reports that the largest gold producer of the world was ready to offload its aging Golden Sunlight mine, which is located in the U.S. in southwestern Montana. The sale of the asset is viewed as part of a broader scheme by the company to dispose non-core assets so as to repay debts.
The company has retained Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce to help with the sale of the property. It acquired the Golden Sunlight property in 2006, although it was one of the company’s smallest properties producing about 92,000 ounces of gold for the whole of last year.
Suitors flock for Lumwana mine
Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX) is being circled by miners and investment banks interested in its Lumwana copper mine in Zambia. The company acquired the Lumwana property in 2011 through its purchase of Australia’s Equinox Resources for $7.3 billion.
The company is expected to accept an offer in the neighborhood of $1 billion as it takes its asset-shakeup a notch higher.
The Lumwana facility has struggled to meet expectations, and it is one of the businesses that have bogged the company down financially. As a matter of fact, the acquisition of the property is part of the expensive and ill-fated purchases made under former CEO Aaron Regent.
A company tracing its footing
Since December 2013, Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) has sold two big assets that include Plutonic mine and Kanowna operation in Australia. It sold Plutonic mine to Northern Start for $25 million in a deal sealed in December. The Kanowna facility was sold to Northern Start Resources for $75 million in January.
Earnings have plummeted at Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX) and the ongoing asset sales are expected to help the company reduce its financial burden while unlocking funds to shore up its balance sheet, which currently makes it the most indebted gold company.
