The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that Barrick Mining paid former chief executive officer Mark Bristow more than $20-million in severance last year (all figures U.S.). The Globe's Niall McGee writes that Mr. Bristow departed the company suddenly last September after years of the company underperforming its peers, and after a power struggle with Barrick chair John Thornton. Toronto-based Barrick was once the biggest gold company in the world by market value, but in recent years, it has slipped to third behind Colorado-based Newmont and Canada's Agnico Eagle. Barrick paid Mr. Bristow $22.9-million in total compensation in 2025, including cash severance of $20.6-million. The company paid him another $517,871 in benefits, including a car allowance. The hard-charging South African became CEO in January, 2019, after Barrick acquired Randgold Resources, which he founded and ran for more than two decades. Since the departure of Mr. Bristow, Barrick has made several strategic about-turns, including announcing a planned initial public offering of a minority share in its North American operations, and slowing development of its Reko Diq copper-gold project in Pakistan. Reko Diq was deeply unpopular with investors.