The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition that Barrick Gold's top executive saw his pay package surge in 2018 -- a lacklustre year for shareholders. The Globe's Niall McGee writes that executive chairman John Thornton earned $12.8-million last year, a two-thirds increase compared with the $7.7-million he made in 2017 (all figures U.S.). The bulk of Mr. Thornton's compensation was a $9.7-million long-term incentive payment, the majority of which must be put toward share purchases. That stock must then be held by Mr. Thornton until he leaves the company and the minimum holding period is three years. In the Friday release, Barrick's lead director, J. Brett Harvey, singled out Mr. Thornton's contributions in negotiating the firm's $6-billion zero-premium acquisition of Randgold Resources last year. While Barrick shares rallied strongly after the Randgold deal was announced in September, they fell by 3 per cent over the course of the entire year. Among the company's troubles in 2018 was a continuing gold-concentrate export ban on its subsidiary Acacia Mining PLC and a flat gold price. Shareholders will have the opportunity to weigh in on executive pay at the May 7 annual meeting in Toronto.