GOLD: Barrick and Shandong complete Veladero joint venture

[caption id="attachment_1003719044" align="aligncenter" width="637"] The Veladero gold mine is now a joint venture of Barrick and Shandong. (Credit: Barrick Gold)[/caption] ARGENTINA – Barrick Gold of Toronto and Chinese partner Shandong Gold Mining have completed the formation of a 50:50 joint venture for the Veladero gold mine in the country’s San Juan province. Shandong paid US$960 million for its share of the project. Barrick intends to use the money primarily to pay down debt. Barrick says establishing the joint venture is the first of three steps to move forward in the district. The second step is to re-examine the Pascua-Lama gold project that straddles the Argentina-Chile border. Construction there has been stalled since 2013 due to environmental allegations. The third step to be undertaken will be to evaluate additional possibilities in the highly prospective El Indio Gold Belt along the border of the two countries. The Veladero mine produced 544 million oz of gold at an all-in sustaining cost of US769/oz. in 2016. At the end of last year, proven and probable reserves were 252.1 million tonnes grading 0.83 g/t gold and containing 6.75 million ounces. The latest issue of Barrick’s “Beyond Borders” is available at www.BarrickBeyondBorders.com.