Barrick Mining (B) Q3 FY25 earnings call: guidance and Q&A

Interim CEO and Group COO Mark Hill, in the role since September, is running a bottom-up operational review of Barrick's assets, about halfway complete, with detailed conclusions due at the February full-year results. The review rebuilds mine plans from the base, emphasizing planned maintenance and utilization to eliminate unexpected surprises like Carlin's roaster downtime and deliver predictable quarter-on-quarter output.

Management does not expect major changes to next year's budget or medium-term guidance from the review. Hill repeatedly stressed that Nevada is the core of the company — delivering more than half of production from a low-risk jurisdiction — and that a larger share of exploration spend will shift to Nevada and North America.

Barrick set company records for operating cash flow, free cash flow, adjusted net earnings and adjusted EPS, with cash flow more than tripling from Q2 and free cash flow up 274% QoQ. Year-to-date 2025 the company generated $5 billion in operating cash flow, reinvested more than $2 billion in the business, paid $596 million in dividends and exhausted its $1 billion repurchase authorization ($598 million repurchased in Q3).

The Board raised the base quarterly dividend 25% to $0.125/share (total quarterly dividend $0.175 including a $0.05 performance dividend) and authorized a further $500 million buyback increase, expanding the program to $1.5 billion. The company ended the quarter in a net cash position.

Gold production rose 4% QoQ. North America gold was up 4% on stronger Cortez leach-pad output and higher Turquoise Ridge throughput at the Sage autoclave, with all NGM sites reporting lower unit cost per ounce and regional attributable EBITDA up 19% QoQ; Carlin was held back by unplanned Gold Quarry roaster downtime from excessive scaling.

Latin America & Asia Pacific was flat QoQ as Veladero's seasonal winter decline offset record Pueblo Viejo throughput (+7% QoQ, highest quarterly production since 2022). Africa & Middle East posted the largest QoQ gain, +8%, led by Kibali +15% on higher open-pit volumes and grades, North Mara +3% and Bulyanhulu flat, lifting regional attributable EBITDA 65% QoQ.

Management characterized Fourmile as arguably this century's most significant gold discovery, citing a rare combination of grade, scale and exploration upside confirmed by an updated PEA in September. Sixteen drill rigs are on site, with the company on track to double the existing resource in 2025 and the exploration budget increased by a little over $10 million for the remainder of the year.

Twenty rigs are planned for 2026, with the Bullion Hill decline development to begin toward the end of 2026 to enable a feasibility study. Fourmile will ultimately enter the Nevada Gold Mines JV with Newmont, but only after drilling, declines and a feasibility study are complete; there were no material JV changes this quarter.

While PV achieved record throughput, recovery is running roughly 5-6% below the level guided earlier in the year, and improving recovery is now the primary focus. Hatch is on site conducting an independent review. Management pointed to stockpile handling and feed blending into the float circuit as critical, aiming to get real-time data to operators to avoid wild intraday recovery swings.

The plant continues to process a combined feedstock of fresh and stockpiled material.

Three colleagues died in the quarter — at Goldrush, Bulyanhulu and Kibali (the Kibali fatality resulting from a Q2 incident) — and management made safety the company's explicit #1 priority, launching full investigations. While the total recordable injury frequency rate has fallen year-on-year, fatalities have risen over the last couple of years, which management attributed to over-focus on lagging indicators and gaps in fatal-risk hazard recognition.

Remedies center on culture, leadership and supervision — getting supervisors out of administrative tasks and into the field — plus more group-level safety resources, competency-based training, and improving the quality (not just quantity) of the 86,000+ critical control verifications completed year-to-date.

Barrick agreed to sell Hemlo and Tongon, both expected to close before year-end and supporting the expanded buyback. Management said no other asset sale processes are currently underway, with focus on the Americas, NGM, PV, the Lumwana expansion and Reko Diq construction.

The Mali (Loulo-Gounkoto) situation remains paused: management's priority is securing the release of four employees detained roughly 11 months in Bamako, with the site kept on care and maintenance and capable of restart once the situation is resolved.