The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that Barrick Gold wants to sell its 50-per-cent share of Australia's largest open-pit gold mine, the Kalgoorlie superpit. A Bloomberg dispatch to The Globe says that Newmont Mining Corp., which owns the other half of the mine -- and operates it -- wants to buy. Barrick has opened up a bidding process for its half of the mine, and president Kelvin Dushnisky expects the auction to be competitive. "Initial indications are very positive," Mr. Dushnisky told Bloomberg. "We think it's going to be a strong process." Newmont chief executive officer Gary Goldberg said the company will participate in Barrick's sale process, but is only going to buy at the right price. Given gold's gut-wrenching volatility over the past decade, investors are demanding that companies maximize value in all potential deals. Talks over Kalgoorie are slow and there is a broad range of estimates for what Barrick's interest is worth. Analyst valuations range from $400-million (U.S.) to about $1.5-billion (U.S.). Mr. Goldberg declined to provide an estimate of the valuation, saying that has to be negotiated. Newmont has also been working to lower costs and increase production.