The settlement that ended years of friction between Barrick Mining and Newmont over their Nevada Gold Mines joint venture was never really about the money. The $1.95 billion cash payment Newmont will make to Barrick is substantial, but the real currency changing hands is control — and the right to take a prized piece of the business public before the year is out.
Barrick’s second-quarter results, released Monday, were strong enough on their own merits. Gold production of 796,000 ounces blew past the company’s own guidance range of 730,000 to 770,000 ounces, while net income jumped 50% year over year to $1.22 billion. Adjusted earnings per share climbed 74% to $0.82, helped along by realized gold prices of $4,417 an ounce — a 34% surge that more than offset the cost pressures building beneath the surface.
Those costs are worth pausing on. All-in sustaining costs rose 11% to $1,866 per ounce, while the company’s gold production costs climbed 20% to $1,993 per ounce. Growth, in other words, is getting more expensive to fund. Even so, operating cash flow reached $1.70 billion, giving Barrick ample room to keep rewarding shareholders.
A Deal That Reshapes the Map
The Nevada agreement, announced alongside the earnings, resolves all outstanding disputes between the two gold giants over their shared operation. Newmont will contribute its Mike and Fiberline development projects to the joint venture, while Barrick brings in Fourmile — a project it had previously kept out of the partnership. The cash component, $1.95 billion, buys Barrick something arguably more valuable: Newmont’s formal blessing for an initial public offering of its North American assets, a transaction management wants completed before the end of this year.
Mark Hill, tapped to lead the new North American entity, told media Tuesday he would prefer an internal candidate to succeed him in his current role at the parent company. The comment underscores how much of Barrick’s strategic energy is now directed toward the separation.
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The restructuring has also forced a rethink of the capital budget. Barrick trimmed its 2026 investment guidance to a range of $3.8 billion to $4.2 billion, a reduction driven primarily by revised timelines at the Reko Diq project in Pakistan, where security concerns have pushed development back to mid-2027. Fourmile, by contrast, is very much in expansion mode: drilling has been scaled up to 20 rigs, with a feasibility study targeted for late 2028.
Buybacks, Dividends, and a Share Price That Won’t Cooperate
The financial picture is one of unusual discipline for a miner. Barrick repurchased $1.209 billion worth of its own shares during the quarter under a $3 billion buyback program, while maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.175 per share, payable September 15. Net cash ballooned to $1.2 billion from just $73 million a year earlier.
The market, however, has yet to fully reward the strategy. Shares closed Friday at C$57.48, up 14% over the past 30 days but down 5.7% on the week. The stock sits roughly 22% below its 52-week high of C$74.00 reached in late January, and remains 3.9% in the red for the year. It is trading just under its 200-day moving average of C$57.98 — a technical level that often acts as a barometer of investor conviction.
Analysts are split on how to read the Nevada deal. National Bank Financial raised its price target to C$70.00 from C$67.50, keeping an “Outperform” rating, with analyst Shane Nagle pointing to operational progress and the Newmont payment. TD Cowen, by contrast, trimmed its target to C$59, arguing that contributing Fourmile to the joint venture dilutes net asset value by 4% — though it maintained a buy recommendation. BofA Securities also nudged its target down, to $54 from $56, while keeping its own buy rating intact.
The divergence captures the central tension in Barrick’s story: a company that is simultaneously simplifying its structure, returning capital at scale, and betting that separation will unlock more value than the entanglement it is leaving behind. The spin-off of the North American unit will provide the verdict — not today, but before the calendar flips to 2027.
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