Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) said Monday it is close to a final framework agreement with Pakistan’s government to develop the $7B Reko Diq copper-gold deposit, one of the world’s largest undeveloped open pit copper-gold deposits.
The project has been on hold since 2011 due to a dispute over the legality of its licensing process.
Reko Diq will be operated and 50% owned by Barrick (GOLD), 25% by the Balochistan provincial government and 25% by Pakistani state-owned enterprises.
The project’s first phase is expected to cost $4B, and the second phase ~$3B, pending an updated feasibility study, which Barrick (GOLD) said should take two years, followed by construction of the first phase and first production of copper and gold anticipated in 2027-28.
Barrick (GOLD) envisions Rako Diq processing 40M metric tons/year of ore, which could be doubled in five years, with a mine life of at least 40 years.
Barrick Gold (GOLD) is trading at a deep discount to fair value, with shares down 50% from Q3 2020 highs, Taylor Dart writes in a bullish analysis newly published on Seeking Alpha.
