The Financial Post reports in its Friday edition that Barrick Gold has brought back a former executive to advance a scaled-back development plan for its suspended Pascua-Lama project that will first focus on Argentina. A Reuters dispatch to the Post says the gold and silver project, which straddles the border of Argentina and Chile in the Andes Mountains, was put on hold in 2013 after development costs that ballooned to $8.5-billion (U.S.). George Bee will work on a modest "starter" option for a phased development plan, the company said. Gold miners are increasingly doing "bite-sized" developments that carry less risk of budget disasters and fewer of the political and environmental disputes that have derailed megamines in recent years. If successful, cash flow from Argentine operations could finance additional development "over time" on both sides of the border, Barrick said. Barrick's Chilean unit is working to resolve legal, regulatory and permitting issues there. Later, Mr. Bee will develop an integrated development plan for Barrick's Frontera district on the El Indio belt. RBC Capital Markets analyst Stephen Walker said in a note to clients that he viewed the announcement as a "positive" for shares.