The Financial Post reports in its Tuesday edition that Barrick is missing out on this year's surge in gold prices. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post says that missed production targets, higher operational costs and political turbulence abroad have investors turning increasingly sour on the world's second-biggest gold producer. On Thursday, Barrick posted gold output that missed analyst estimates for the 11th straight quarter. Barrick's shares are virtually unchanged since the beginning of January. Gold, meanwhile, has soared 30 per cent. Chief executive officer Mark Bristow's explanation? "We're rebuilding the business." Barrick has spent years working to improve its balance sheet after amassing debt from acquisitions. Mr. Bristow, who joined as CEO in 2019, has paid down that debt while exercising restraint in deal making. Barrick's Nevada operations, co-owned with Newmont, need significant infrastructure repairs, and labour costs have increased. Africa is also a chief concern among investors, notably in Mali, where the military government is threatening to withdraw Barrick's right to operate a mine. In the Dominican Republic, an extension to Barrick's Pueblo Viejo mine has taken longer than expected to complete.