Mr. Mark Bristow reports

STRATEGICALLY DRIVEN BARRICK TO DELIVER SUSTAINABLY PROFITABLE GROWTH

Barrick Gold Corp. is projecting a 30-per-cent increase in production on the back of the growth options embedded in its asset portfolio.

President and chief executive officer Mark Bristow said the clean energy transition is creating an unprecedented demand for metals and minerals but the market's demand for instant gratification is driving mergers and acquisitions, which is not always conducive to investment in sustainable projects but rather the delivery of short-term returns. "These growth projects are vital, not only for the resources needed for cleaner energy but for the development of emerging economies," Mr. Bristow said.

"Mining is a long game and it requires long-term vision and investment." He also noted that Barrick owns and operates six of the world's Tier 1 gold mines and is poised to expand this best-in-class asset portfolio through continuing reserve replacement and the potential for new world-class discoveries being pursued across many of the world's most prolific gold belts.

"In 2019, our strategy for the new Barrick included a mandate to grow our copper business which we recognized as strategically important at that relatively early stage. Once fully ramped up, Reko Diq and Lumwana will rank as two of the world's top 20 copper mines by annual production sustained over significant multidecade mine lives. If the forecasts of a copper shortage are even partly correct, this will give us a significant additional upside," he said.

"We not only have a sustainable, fully budgeted 10-year base plan, we also have a growth plan that sees us increase production by 30 per cent by the end of the decade, which I believe is unique in our industry," he said.

Technical information

The scientific and technical information contained in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Richard Peattie, MPhil, FAusIMM, mineral resources manager: Africa and Middle East; and Simon Bottoms, Cgeol, Mgeol, FGS, FAusIMM, mineral resource management and evaluation executive -- each a qualified person as defined in National Instrument 43-101 -- Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

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