The Financial Post reports in its Tuesday, Dec. 2, edition that Barrick Mining is mulling spinning off its North American assets as part of its latest efforts to jump-start flailing investor interest. The Post's Gabriel Friedman writes that Barrick has been trading at a discount to its peers, and has dropped from being the largest gold miner by market capitalization to the third-largest over the past five years. Now, its board has authorized interim chief executive officer Mark Hill to explore putting its mining assets in Nevada and the Dominican Republic into a separate entity that would have its own public listing. Barrick would retain a majority interest in the new company. It represents an about face from Barrick's strategy over the past five years, in which it has severed nearly all ties to Canada and instead banked on big projects overseas, notably its Reko Diq copper and gold project in Balochistan, Pakistan. RBC analyst Josh Wolfson estimates the new company could produce around two million ounces of gold per year at an all-in sustaining cost of $1,640 per ounce, making it a top five global producer. He says the plan is a positive and could lift Barrick's share price by 15 per cent to 20 per cent.