The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition that Barrick Gold is in talks to sell its Lagunas Norte gold mine in Peru. The Globe's Niall McGee writes that Barrick's Mark Hill made the comments about Lagunas on Friday during a webcast with executives from Randgold Resources, which Barrick is in the process of acquiring. Earlier this year, Barrick's executive chairman, John Thornton, said the company intended to sell assets that were not strategic or Tier 1 and included Lagunas as an example. He defined Tier 1 as a property that produces at least half a million ounces of gold a year, has a life of more than 10 years and is low cost. Lagunas is nearing the end of its life cycle, and is on track to produce around 260,000 ounces of gold this year, a steep decline from last year, when it produced almost 390,000 ounces. In its most recent quarter, Barrick took a $405-million (U.S.) writedown on Lagunas. Haywood analyst Kerry Smith said that Lagunas could sell for about $240-million (U.S.) with possible interest from Chinese buyers. Since joining Barrick a few years ago, Mr. Thornton has built up the firm's relationships with Chinese gold companies, some of which have emerged as buyers for Barrick's assets.