The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that Teck owns a royalty on Barrick's Fourmile gold project in Nevada that could be worth billions -- a revelation that could affect the valuation of Barrick's planned initial public offering of its North American business. The Globe's Niall McGee writes that Barrick has not yet publicly disclosed the royalty on a project it has described as "one of the century's greatest gold discoveries." Up to now, the only royalty disclosed on Fourmile is the 1.6-per-cent gross smelter return, which is based on revenue not profit, held by U.S.-traded Royal Gold Inc. Documents filed with Nevada's Eureka county in 2011 show that Barrick and Teck signed a royalty pact covering mining claims in vast tracts of land in the state. The pact covered the Goldrush mine, which went into production in 2024, and the Fourmile project, which is expected to be in production in about three or four years. According documents, if Fourmile is developed into a mine, Barrick would pay Teck 10 per cent of the net profits. The royalty increases to 15 per cent once six million ounces of gold are produced. The royalty agreement was filed in Nevada four years before Barrick made the discovery at Fourmile.