GOLD: Barrick mulls $1B expansion at Pueblo Viejo

[caption id="attachment_1003728942" align="aligncenter" width="468"] Gold output from the Pueblo Viejo joint venture may rise by 50%. (Image: Barrick Gold)[/caption] DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – Toronto’s Barrick Gold has given itself until 2020 to complete a feasibility study on increasing the output of the Pueblo Viejo gold mine by 50%. The study will address the expansion of the processing plant and tailings management capacity at an initial capital cost of at least $1.0 billion (all figures are U.S. dollars). The project, located about 100 km northwest of Santo Domingo, is owned 60% by Barrick (the operator) and 40% by Newmont Goldcorp. Pueblo Viejo will produce between 580,000 and 600,000 oz. of gold in 2019 at an all-in sustaining cost of $610 to $650 per oz. The mine has measured resources of 12.8 million tonnes grading 2.39 g/t gold and indicated resources of 156.3 million tonnes grading 2.47 g/t gold. Together the meas ured and indicated resources contain almost 13.4 million oz. of contained gold. The inferred resource is 46.0 million tonnes at 2.43 g/t gold and contains 3.6 million oz. Barrick president and CEO Mark Bristow extolled the economic contribution the mine has in the Dominican Republic. He noted that the joint venture has invested $5.2 billion in Pueblo Viejo, representing 20% of the total foreign direct investment over the past decade in the country. Since 2013, the mine has accounted for 30% of the country’s exports and generated a total net added value of $8.5 billion, equal to 2% of the Dominican GDP. Ninety six per cent of the employees are Dominicans, and local contractors and suppliers have benefited from expenditures of more than $123 million over the past six years. Additional information about Pueblo Viejo is available at either www.Barrick.com or www.NewmontGoldcorp.com.