The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition that John Thornton will tell you he saved Barrick Gold from certain destruction and set it up for fresh success.
The Globe's Eric Reguly writes that the company's shareholders are not convinced. To many of them, Barrick looks like the incredible shrinking company.
Mr. Thornton, executive chairman of the world's biggest gold company since 2014, and a former Goldman Sachs Group president, is convinced that his overhaul of Barrick has changed the company for the better, even though its shares have dropped almost 40 per cent in the past year alone. In an exceedingly rare interview, he is coming out of his shell to defend a turnaround strategy that seems to have alienated investors rather than please them.
"Chasing ounces," as he puts it, is not his strategy. His plan is to recreate Barrick as a gold company that does not operate like a gold company, while inviting big-name Chinese miners to invest in Barrick projects. To him, growth does not necessarily mean more reserves, mines and production; it means more free cash flow.
When free cash flow expands, so does the company's ability to invest in new projects and dole out riches to shareholders.
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