Barrick Mining Corporation Q3 FY2025 earnings call

• Mark Hill emphasized a bottom-up review of operations to improve safety and performance, with focus on North American gold assets, particularly MGM and Fourmile discovery.
• Q3 had strong operational and financial results, including record adjusted earnings per share, cash flow, and free cash flow.
• Dividends increased by 25%, with a record quarterly cash return to shareholders via dividends and buybacks.
• Asset sales supported a $1.5 billion US buyback program.
• Fourmile PEA confirmed it as a significant gold discovery, with plans to double the existing resource and increase exploration budget.
• Regional performance: North America gold production up 4%, Latin America/Asia Pacific gold production in line, Africa/Middle East gold production up 8%; copper production down slightly due to Lumwana shutdown.

Gold production: North America gold production increased 4% from Q2, driven by improved performance at Cortez and Turquoise Ridge; Latin America and Asia Pacific gold production was in line with Q2; Africa, Middle East gold production saw an 8% quarter-on-quarter increase, led by a 15% increase at Kibali. Copper production was slightly down from Q2 due to a September shutdown at Lumwana. NGM contributed more than half of Q3 attributable production.

• Expect continued quarterly growth in Q4 for gold production in line with 2025 plan.
• Gold and copper production expected to deliver within respective guidance ranges for the year, adjusting for royalty impact from higher gold prices.
• Base quarterly dividend increased by 25% to 12.5 cents per share; board authorized a $500 million increase to share repurchase program.

• Three fatalities at Goldrush, Bull and Hulu, and Kibali, leading to a full investigation and review of safety culture and structures.
• Unforeseen maintenance issues at Carlin, such as excessive scaling at the Gold Quarry roaster, highlighting the need for improved planned maintenance.

Q: On the bottom-up operational review at Nevada Gold Mine, framework for what's being looked at and incremental vs recapitalization efforts A: Review focuses on stabilizing operations, building plans from the base, incorporating mining efficiencies, utilization, and maintenance approach to avoid unexpected surprises Q: On maintenance at Carlin, excessive scaling at Gold Quarry roaster A: Buildup happened after first half shutdown, unforeseen but now taken care of Q: Output of operational review, including medium-term guidance A: Review to get predictable outcomes, feed into next year's budget, no major changes expected yet Q: Potential asset sales and focus areas A: Focus on The Americas, MGM, PB, Lumwana expansion; no immediate plans for other asset sales Q: Fourmile JV update and MGM production guidance A: Fourmile JV discussion to happen after feasibility study; MGM production expected to be relatively flat next year Q: Safety review and management changes A: Focus on safety culture, leadership, planned maintenance, supervisor face time, leading indicators, and safety team resources; no major management changes yet Q: PV stockpiles and collars A: Focus on PV recovery, blending stockpile and fresh material; collar was due to strategic opportunity not closing, small impact on financial results Q: Corporate policies different from predecessor A: Focus shifted to North America, increased exploration focus there