Barrick’s Q4 gold output rises 10% sequentially

Canadian miner Barrick Gold Corp said on Wednesday its fourth-quarter production rose 10% sequentially, helped by strong performance from its Carlin and Cortez mines in Nevada. Gold prices had gained 4% during the quarter as concerns over inflation and the Omicron coronavirus variant supported the yellow metal’s safe-haven appeal.

The company reported total preliminary gold output of 1.20 million ounces in the quarter ended Dec. 31, from 1.09 million ounces a quarter ago.

The Toronto-based miner said copper production during the quarter was 126 million pounds, a 26% increase from the previous quarter.

Barrick, which is scheduled to release its fourth-quarter results on Feb. 16, said it expects its all-in sustaining costs (AISC) for gold, a key industry metric, to be down between 4% and 6% from the third quarter. Copper’s AISC is expected to rise in the range of 11% to 13% from the previous quarter. Barrick said its preliminary full-year gold and copper production was 4.44 million ounces and 415 million pounds, respectively.

It had earlier forecast full-year gold output of 4.40 million to 4.70 million ounces and copper output of 410 million to 460 million pounds.