The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, Dec. 5, edition that Barrick Mining is being pressed by an activist investor to split itself up, and this week it set in motion a process that could see that happen. The Globe's Niall McGee and Tim Kiladze write that chairman John Thornton considered carving up Barrick into three parts, keeping the miner's North American assets and selling off its African mines in 2018. In September, 2018, Barrick said it was acquiring Randgold. The acquisition brought mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Mali into the Barrick portfolio, on top of its existing Tanzanian exposure. However, the possibility of a split quickly died because Randgold went through a period of underperformance relative to Barrick and Mr. Thornton quickly realized he had leverage to push for a no-premium acquisition of Randgold. On Monday, Barrick said it was considering spinning off a minority share in its North American operations, opening up the possibility once again of carving up the company. The new proposal has shades of what Mr. Thornton originally pushed for back in 2018.