Construction of the third shaft at Turquoise Ridge continues to advance according to schedule and within budget, with efforts in 2019 focused on surface civil works and shaft sinking.

Shaft sub-collar and ventilation plenum pours were completed in the first quarter of 2019.

Backfilling of the sub-collar was completed and pre-sink activities commenced the shaft pre-sink had started and has reached a depth of 26m out of a total planned depth of 1,052m as measured by the depth of concrete liner below collar. The assembly of the Galloway commenced with the assembly of the bottom deck. Dewatering wells are complete and commissioned, hoist house foundations complete and hoist assembly has commenced.

Under the current Life of Mine plan, the Deep South project starts to contribute to Cortez production from 2020.

The draft Environmental Impact Statement for the project was published in late October 2018, and the public comment period concluded in December 2018.

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.

Construction of twin exploration declines at Goldrush accelerated in the first quarter of 2019, and each decline has now advanced approximately 680 meters of the planned 4000m. These declines will provide access to the ore body, allowing for further drilling, and the conversion of existing resources to reserves. The exploration declines can be converted to production declines in the future, subject to further permitting. Development of the decline infrastructure areas including wash and lube bay and powder magazine was completed in the first quarter. Underground decline cover drilling to predict the forward ground conditions has been adopted in planning.

The feasibility study of a Massawa standalone operation was completed in the fourth quarter of 2018 and does not currently pass the investment hurdles we have set for the company. Work continues to bring this asset to account, including additional exploration work, while the application for the exploitation permit to develop the project has been submitted to the government.

Technical Report

Donlin Gold, located in Alaska, contains 39.0 million ounces of measured and indicated gold resources (Barrick’s 50% equity share is 19.5 million ounces). A federally permitted project, Donlin Gold is one of the largest, undeveloped open pit gold deposits in the world. With key permitting activities largely advanced, the current focus is on integrating scoping-level optimization work into a study that will form the basis for an updated project development plan. The Donlin team is continuing its work, in collaboration with Barrick and NOVAGOLD, with a strong focus on furthering our geological understanding, engineering optimization, environmental stewardship and safety.

Norte Abierto, our new joint venture with Newmont 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.