Skip to main content
Skip to main content

search widget

Spanish
Menu
Home  >  Investors  >  Annual Report  >  Exploration

Exploration

Spanish

mobile site search widget

Annual Report 2024

Exploration

Barrick views exploration as a long-term investment and key value driver, having an organic growth record and forecast that is unparalleled in the industry.

The company’s exploration and growth strategy balances the delivery of short to medium-term projects, with the potential to enhance mine plans, with longer-term, greenfields programs for new discoveries to enhance its existing Tier One Asset portfolio.

Additionally, the ongoing optimization of a portfolio of major undeveloped projects maximizes value creation while Barrick geologists are continually evaluating opportunities across the globe with the potential to pass our strict investment filters. In 2024, brownfields exploration continued to identify new zones of mineralization around our operations, while greenfields exploration activity focused on a refined portfolio of the highest quality targets with exciting potential.

Creating Value Through Exploration and Optimization

North America

Exploration work in North America continues to expand beyond our operations in the Carlin District in northeast Nevada through the consolidation of a portfolio of prospective early-stage copper and gold exploration projects in the Superior Craton of Canada and across the Western US. One of our key strategic objectives is the continuing growth within the Nevada Gold Mines area of interest, through brownfields exploration around the existing world class orebodies and our focus on the discovery of the next Carlin deposit.

In Nevada, on the Carlin trend, in-fill drilling confirmed and extended high-grade mineralization at Leeville and the northern extensions of the Horsham, Miramar, and Fallon deposits as well as at the Ren Deposit on the western side of the Little Boulder Basin. Detailed mapping to the north of Leeville highlighted multiple alteration trends and related dike corridors to be drill-tested in 2025. Further south on the trend, drilling of the unexplored Carlin Basin advanced to the testing and confirmation of multiple strong zones of Carlin alteration and anomalism, typical of the distal parts of a Carlin gold system.

In the Cortez District, strong results from ongoing drilling at Fourmile continued to build confidence in its potential as the next Tier One deposit in the district and support the completion of a feasibility study. To the west, drilling below Cortez Underground continued to extend the Hanson deposit, where mineralization remains open in multiple directions.

At Swift, a greenfields target in the western portion of the district, one of several framework holes drilled into the large, covered alteration system intersected a narrow zone of high-grade, Carlin-style mineralization and structural complexity, building confidence in the target at this early framework drilling stage.

At Turquoise Ridge, a comprehensive review of the consolidated district model yielded an exciting, untested concept just east of the third shaft which will be drill tested in the first half of 2025.

Generative exploration work conducted in western Nevada for volcanic-hosted epithermal gold systems identified several opportunities of high-level hydrothermal alteration with potential target preservation at depth which we have now secured, with exploration expected to progress to the drill testing of higher priority targets in the second half of 2025.

Our copper exploration strategy in North America made significant advances as field campaigns followed up opportunities developed through 2024, securing multiple properties through claim staking and land leases. Initial drill testing is likely to begin on the top priority projects during the second half of 2025 and additional projects are expected to be identified and secured from on-going field work. In Nevada, we are successfully advancing our copper exploration across the Battle Mountain district, an area where extensive copper mineralization exists.

In Canada, work progressed on our exploration portfolio with early shallow drilling undertaken at the Patris project and deep framework drilling at the Norris project, testing an exciting, covered target concept along the fertile Southern Abitibi mineral trend.

Latin America and Asia Pacific

The region has a fully rationalized gold and copper portfolio with significant opportunities ranging from early-stage to brownfield targets. In 2024, new frontier opportunities were established in Ecuador and Jamaica while near-mine exploration remains a priority, providing optionality to the operations at Veladero and Pueblo Viejo, while at Reko Diq we are exploring for mineralization which will upgrade the existing mine plan.

In the Dominican Republic drilling is ongoing at multiple newly developed targets on and around the Pueblo Viejo mining lease. Our research during the year also led to the identification of two new greenfields opportunities which we have secured. At the La Jirafa project, in the Los Ranchos Belt, we defined a gold- copper porphyry target, with drilling planned for 2025. In the Restauracion District in the west of the country, three emerging gold targets are being evaluated, with drill-ready targets expected by Q3 2025.

Following a successful public tender with ENAMI EP in Ecuador and the signing of a commercial framework agreement, the team secured ground in the highly prospective southern Jurassic Belt, host to the Mirador and Fruta del Norte deposits. Additionally, this year Barrick acquired the Valle del Tigre property, further consolidating a district-scale position. The team has been carrying out fieldwork through the year and the current focus is on finalizing agreements with ENAMI followed by drill permitting, with drilling expected in Q4 2025.

A new frontier for gold and copper exploration was launched in Jamaica through an earn-in agreement with Geophysx Jamaica, securing a 4,000km² land position with geology similar to the Dominican Republic. Analysis and interpretation of Geophyx’s extensive data, and field reconnaissance work has identified district-scale targets with porphyry and epithermal potential. Follow-up work is in progress, with drilling planned for 2025, subject to permitting approval.

Peru, host to multiple potential Tier One gold and copper deposits, remained a key exploration focus in 2024. At Libelula, an epithermal gold target south of Pierina, the first drilling campaign began in Q4 2024, with encouraging early observations. In the south of the country, the team confirmed the potential for a large and shallow copper-gold porphyry system at Ccoropuro where permitting and community engagement are ongoing, with drilling planned for the second half of 2025.

In Argentina, exploration efforts have accelerated on brownfield targets across the Veladero District. Fabiana, a high-sulfidation gold target located five kilometres east of Veladero, has drilling scheduled for early February 2025. Brujas, another large high-sulfidation target, identified as a high priority, will be the focus of exploration work in the first half of 2025, with drill testing planned before the winter season.

Exploration efforts across the Asia Pacific region continue, focusing on high-potential opportunities. At the Reko Diq copper-gold porphyry district in Pakistan, results from a large mapping and rock chip survey were integrated with all historical data to define a pipeline of high potential projects. A drilling campaign began in Q4 2024, marking the first exploration holes in Reko Diq since 2009. At H14 (western porphyries), a deep drill hole confirmed open, high-grade mineralization, 250m west of existing drilling. At Tanjeel, two drill holes intercepted high-grade copper sulfides, confirming hypogene mineralization potential below the supergene copper blanket. At Gurich, a newly defined gold-copper porphyry-breccia complex, drilling discovered strong near-surface mineralization in a northwest-trending corridor. A new shallow copper-gold porphyry target, Bukit Pasir, located four kilometres north of the western porphyries, has also been defined, with drilling scheduled for Q1 2025. In Japan, two low-sulfidation gold targets, Hakuryu and Ebino, remain untested, with drilling planned for Q2 2025, pending permitting approval.

Africa and Middle East

2024 marked a pivotal year for the AME exploration portfolio, with the acquisition and consolidation of multiple high-potential, large scale, exploration projects situated in world-class geological environments, each offering Tier One discovery opportunities. At the same time, confidence is growing in the potential of several brownfield targets to deliver major multi-million ounce orebodies, strategically located near the region’s flagship Tier One operations at Loulo-Gounkoto and Kibali.

In Senegal, during Q4 2024, an exploration alliance agreement was executed with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Managem Group, a Moroccan mining company, which provides Barrick with the option to acquire a 65% interest in an initial three exploration permits in Senegal covering approximately 820km2. The properties are located adjacent and proximal to Barrick’s existing Bambadji joint venture and Dalema projects, located in a prolific geological setting extending from western Mali into eastern Senegal which has already seen multiple major gold discoveries. Intensive target generation programs are planned for early 2025. Meanwhile on the Bambadji joint venture, drilling on the Kabewest target extended the mineralized breccias down to 500m vertical depth. The system is still open at depth and will be prioritized against other opportunities in the Senegal exploration portfolio for follow up in 2025.

In Mali, at Loulo-Gounkoto, aggressive drilling at the Baboto Complex has significantly increased in-pit resources, while extensional drilling has also defined numerous high- grade plunging shoots beneath the resource, extended near surface mineralization along strike, and discovered an emerging parallel mineralized corridor to the east of the deposit. Elsewhere, a geological review of the Yalea Structure has highlighted several near-surface opportunities north and south of Yalea, including the Barika target where scout drilling has confirmed plunging, high-grade, mineralization over a 650m strike. Drilling at depth at Yalea and Gounkoto continues to highlight large scale extension potential to continue to replace and add mineral inventory.

In Côte d’Ivoire, the prefeasibility study was completed at Fonondara on the Boundiali permit highlighting the potential of the deposit as a high-grade Tongon satellite. Upside remains along sparsely tested portions of the Fonondara Structure to the north and south, as well as at depth beneath the current resource. On the Nielle permit, exploration continues to identify new opportunities along the northern Stabillo and Eastern Corridor trends, building on the success of recent years. Jubula Main and Koro A2 were added to Life of Mine reserves, and exciting new targets were delineated in the neighbouring Korokaha North exploration permit. Along the southern Badenou Trend, drilling has added ounces at Mercator and multiple targets within the wider Mercator cluster offer additional upside to be tested in 2025.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo at Kibali, strong drilling results in the ARK corridor have significantly increased confidence in the potential of the target to deliver a high-grade multi-million-ounce orebody less than four kilometres from the Kibali processing plant. Extensive upside opportunities remain down plunge on existing targets and between, above and below the known mineralized bodies. At Andi Watsa, drilling has delineated a highly prospective mineralized shear over 1.8km in strike with deeper drilling scheduled for early 2025. This target has the potential to unlock the rest of the extensive and underexplored KZ South Trend. Furthermore, generative work and follow up geological mapping, to the west of KCD, has defined exciting, large scale greenfield targets at Dembu to replenish the base of the resource triangle.

The Tanzania exploration portfolio has grown to 4,900km2, including two highly prospective and underexplored belt scale greenfield exploration projects. The 2,800km2 Nzega Project and the 570km2 Siga Project are both located along underexplored major structural corridors exhibiting the geological potential to deliver Tanzania’s next Tier One discoveries. Near North Mara and Bulyanhulu, geological reviews have identified multiple new targets that have been prioritized for testing in 2025, including the Tagota Complex on the Mara Belt where the presence of a large scale hydrothermal system centred on a fertile intrusive complex has been confirmed by drilling.

A large scale, 2,300km2, portfolio of prospective greenfield exploration projects has been established across Zambia and the DRC in the prolific Central African Copper Belt and grass roots exploration has commenced. At Lumwana, multiple targets have been prioritized for testing in 2025, aiming to discover high- grade resources to provide additional flexibility for the mine.

In Saudi Arabia, exploration programs on the Barrick/ Ma’aden joint venture projects around the Jabal Sayid mine have made significant progress in delineating the key prospective corridors within the Jabal Sayid and Umm Ad Damar projects. While results to date suggest a low probability of a near-surface discovery along these corridors, the untested potential at depth remains promising and will be a central focus for 2025.

Annual Report 2024

Home NEXT / Sustainability