TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 5, 2004--
All amounts in United States dollars
Barrick Gold Corporation announced today that it has recently
received a Development Agreement from the Tanzanian Government for the
Tulawaka project and will now proceed with construction of a new mine.
Tulawaka contains approximately 526,000 ounces of gold in probable
mineral reserves with 1.42 million tonnes of ore at a grade of 11.54
grams per tonne. The capital cost estimate is $49 million and total
cash costs are expected to be $175 per ounce. The mine life is
currently expected to be four years with production to commence in the
first quarter of 2005.
Tulawaka is a 70/30 joint venture between Pangea Goldfields Inc.,
a wholly-owned subsidiary of Barrick Gold Corporation, and Northern
Mining Explorations Ltd. The site is located approximately 1,000
kilometers from Dar es Salaam and 100 kilometers from Barrick's
Bulyanhulu Mine. The Tulawaka project will employ about 300 people for
five years including the construction period. Ausenco Limited, based
in Perth, Australia, has been appointed as the Engineering,
Procurement, Construction and Management (EPCM) contractor.
The Tulawaka exploration property was obtained by Barrick through
the acquisition of Pangea Goldfields in June 2000. Barrick's
subsidiary, Pangea, received approval of an Environmental Impact
Assessment in September 2003 and the granting of a Mining License in
November 2003 from the United Republic of Tanzania. The Development
Agreement was signed on December 29, 2003, by the Tanzanian Minister
of Energy and Minerals and provides for fiscal stability under the
current regulations for the duration of the project.
Barrick Gold is a leading international gold producer with
operations and development projects on four continents.
Reserve calculations were prepared by employees of Barrick under
the supervision of Alex J. Davidson, P. Geo, Executive Vice President,
Exploration of Barrick, and Rene Marion, P. Eng., Corporate Head,
Evaluations and Development of Barrick. The reserve has been
calculated on a block modeling basis, using blocks of 2x5x5 meters and
a cutoff grade of 1.6 g/tonne (0.045 oz/ton). A total of 20,000 meters
in 545 reverse circulation drill holes and 36,351 meters in 191
diamond drill holes have been drilled and assayed in the area of
interest. Drill hole spacing averages 25 meters. A drill hole radius
of 12.5 meters was used for the purpose of calculating the reserve.
For additional information on Barrick's reserve methodology see
Barrick's most recent Annual Information Form on file with Canadian
provincial securities regulatory authorities and the U.S. Securities
Exchange Commission.
Certain statements included herein, including those regarding
costs and amount and timing of production constitute "forward looking
statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward looking statements involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may
cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Barrick or of
the gold mining industry to be materially different from future
results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by those
forward looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and other
factors include, but are not limited to, changes in the worldwide
price of gold or certain other commodities and currencies and the
risks involved in the exploration, development and mining business.
These factors are discussed in greater detail in Barrick's most recent
Annual Information Form and Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial and Operating Results" on file with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission and Canadian provincial securities regulatory
authorities.
CONTACT: Barrick Gold Corporation
Vincent Borg, 416-307-7477; 416-861-1509 (Fax)
media@barrick.com
SOURCE: Barrick Gold Corporation