The construction of a third shaft at Turquoise Ridge, with an estimated initial capital investment of $300-$325 million (100 percent basis) has been approved by the Company. Combined with additional processing capacity, this is expected to enable the mine to roughly double annual production to more than 500,000 ounces per year (100 percent basis), at an average cost of sales² of around $720 per ounce, and average all-in sustaining costs³ of roughly $630 per ounce.

Permits for the construction of a third shaft are in hand. Surface works and shaft sinking are expected to take place in 2018 and 2019, followed by equipping of the shaft in 2020 and 2021, with initial production from the new shaft expected to begin in 2022, and sustained production expected to begin 2023.

Located in the heart of northern Nevada—one of the world’s premier jurisdictions for gold mining—Turquoise Ridge has 5.9 million ounces¹ of proven and probable gold reserves (Barrick’s 75 percent share) at an average grade of 15.56 grams per tonne—the highest reserve grade in the Company’s operating portfolio, and among the highest in the gold industry. The mine added 2.1 million ounces of proven and probable gold reserves in 2017 through drilling (Barrick’s 75 percent share), and the deposit remains open in multiple directions, including at depth.

More on the third shaft project (PDF)

The Deep South project is expected to contribute approximately 300,000 ounces of annual gold production when fully ramped up between 2024 and 2028, at a cost of sales² of $650 per ounce, and all-in sustaining costs³ of $580 per ounce. Deep South will utilize infrastructure which has already been approved under current plans to expand mining in the Lower Zone of the Cortez underground mine, including the new Rangefront twin declines and other underground infrastructure already under construction.

Permitting for Deep South was initiated in 2016 with the submission of an amendment to the current Mine Plan of Operations to the Bureau of Land Management, and is expected to take approximately three to four years. A draft Environmental Impact Statement was published on October 22, 2018, and will remain open for public comment until December 5. A record of decision is expected in the second half of 2019, followed by two years of construction, with initial production from Deep South in 2022.

The project is expected to contribute approximately 300,000 ounces of annual gold production when fully ramped up between 2024 and 2028, at a cost of sales² of $650 per ounce, and all-in sustaining costs³ of $580 per ounce. Deep South will utilize infrastructure which has already been approved under current plans to expand mining in the Lower Zone of the Cortez underground mine, including the new Rangefront twin declines, and other underground infrastructure already in use and under construction.

More on Deep South (PDF)

Goldrush is on track to become Barrick’s newest mining operation in the Company’s core district of Nevada. Decline construction, detailed engineering, and permitting (Environmental Impact Statement) are expected to take place between 2018 and 2020, with construction and initial production expected between 2021 and 2022, and sustained production expected from 2023. The first phase of the project involves the construction of an exploration twin decline to provide access to the orebody at depth, which will enable further exploration drilling, as well as the conversion of existing resources to reserves. The exploration declines are permitted and can be converted into production declines in the future.

Goldrush currently has proven and probable gold reserves of 1.5 million ounces¹ and measured and indicated gold resources of 9.4 million ounces¹, with significant potential to identify additional resources once underground access to drill the deposit is established. When in full operation, the Goldrush underground project is expected to produce approximately 500,000 ounces of gold per year, at a cost of sales² of roughly $750 per ounce, and all-in sustaining costs³ of approximately $640 per ounce.

More on Goldrush (PDF)

The first component of the project contemplates the construction of a grinding and carbon-in-leach processing circuit that would treat remaining carbonaceous oxide material at Lagunas Norte. Environmental permits for these facilities are already in hand, while construction permits are pending. We expect to complete detailed engineering in 2018 and 2019. If approved, construction and commissioning are anticipated to take place in 2019 and 2020, followed by initial production in 2021.

The second component of the project contemplates the construction of a flotation and autoclave processing circuit that would treat refractory material. If approved, detailed engineering and environmental permitting for these facilities is expected to take place between 2021 and 2023, with construction and commissioning between 2024 and 2026, followed by first production in 2027.

More on the Lagunas Norte Mine Life Extension (PDF)

The Massawa gold project is located within the Kanoumba permit in eastern Senegal, located within the Kedougou-Kenieba inlier which is underlain by Lower Proterozoic Birimian metasedimentary-volcanic sequences. The project is located about 700 kilometres south east of the capital city of Dakar and approximately 90 kilometres due west of Barrick’s Loulo operation in Mali.

The Massawa feasibility project is being progressed towards a final development decision which includes its potential to meet Barrick’s internal investment filters. These investment criteria include a critical mass of 3Moz of mineable gold capable of delivering an IRR of 20% at $1,000/oz for the project. The project currently falls slightly short of these targets and work is focussing on testing the potential of the high grade portion of the Central Zone (CZ) orebody and the surrounding satellite deposits of KB, Kaviar and others. Results from the CZ and satellite targets have recently highlighted some exciting potential for high grade mineralisation.

Q3 2018 UPDATE (PDF)

Donlin Gold, located in Alaska, contains 19.5 million ounces¹ of measured and indicated gold resources (Barrick’s 50 percent share). The project represents one of the world’s largest undeveloped gold deposits, at an advanced stage of permitting in a stable jurisdiction, underscoring its unique potential. We continue to work in collaboration with our partners at NOVAGOLD to optimize the project, including the potential for staged development, while reducing upfront capital and mitigating development risk. In support of this process, we completed a drill program of 7,040 meters in 2017 designed to further strengthen our understanding of target mineralized zones. Initial drilling results are encouraging and will form part of an overall geological review. Permitting for the project remains underway. We expect the final Environmental Impact Statement to be published by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in early 2018, with a Record of Decision expected in the second half of the year.

Norte Abierto, our new joint venture with Goldcorp in Chile, contains 11.6 million ounces¹ of proven and probable gold reserves, and 13.3 million ounces¹ of measured and indicated gold resources (Barrick’s 50 percent share). The joint venture is now advancing an optimized project design, including an updated geological model for the Cerro Casale, Caspiche, and Luciano deposits. Work in 2018 will include trade-off and engineering studies on power, water, mining methods, and metallurgy, as well as ongoing stakeholder engagement and environmental baseline monitoring.

Pascua-Lama, located on the border between Argentina and Chile, contains 21.3 million ounces¹ of measured and indicated gold resources. Over the past year, Barrick has been studying the optimization of the Pascua-Lama project. Work to date on the prefeasibility study for a potential underground project indicates that while the concept may be feasible from a technical standpoint, it does not meet Barrick’s investment criteria. Based on this, and taking into consideration other risk factors, the Company has suspended work on the prefeasibility study, and will focus on adjusting the project closure plan for surface infrastructure on the Chilean side of the project, in line with legal requirements. Barrick will continue to evaluate opportunities to de-risk the project while maintaining Pascua-Lama as an option for development in the future if economics improve, and related risks can be mitigated.

The Alturas project, located in Chile on the El Indio Belt, is a Barrick greenfield discovery with 6.8 million ounces³ of inferred gold resources as of December 31, 2017. In 2017, we completed a scoping-level study for a conventional open pit heap leach operation at Alturas which fell just short of the Company’s hurdle rate. In support of project optimization efforts, we are now undertaking additional drilling focused on increasing grades, adding and better-defining shallow near surface mineralization, and increasing potential mine resource tonnage.