Barrick puts Pascua-Lama on slow track, eyes US$5B writedown, job cuts

摘要

When you're in trouble, by all means keep digging, but just slow down the pace a bit. At least that is the solution Barrick Gold (ABX-T, ABX-N) has devised for its bloated Pascua-Lama gold mine project under construction in Chile and Argentina. In a release put out the evening of June 28 before the Canada Day long weekend, Barrick stated that it had submitted a plan - subject to review by Chilean regulatory authorities - to build the project's water-management system for completion by the end of 2014, after which it expects to complete remaining construction works in Chile, including pre-stripping. That means ore from Chile would be available for processing by mid-2016.