News Details

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 5, 2003--Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:ABX) (TSX:ABX) (LSE:ABX) (Swiss:ABX) (PARIS:ABX) today commenced legal proceedings against Blanchard and Company, Inc. in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. The proceedings pertain to a series of false and defamatory statements that Blanchard and its CEO, Donald W. Doyle, Jr., have published since mid-December 2002 concerning Barrick. On January 29, 2003, Barrick served a formal Libel Notice which is the first step in the commencement of legal proceedings of this nature in Canada.

Barrick seeks damages in the amount of $100 million, aggravated, exemplary and punitive damages in the amount of $100 million, a permanent injunction restraining the Defendants from repeating, disseminating, publishing or causing to be re-published the defamatory statements complained of, and a mandatory injunction requiring the Defendants to remove or cause to be removed all of their defamatory statements from websites or other locations on the Internet.

"We value highly our reputation for carrying on business in a proper, ethical and lawful manner and will not tolerate the dissemination of false statements that are harmful to our reputation, business interests and stakeholders - by Blanchard, Doyle or others," said Greg Wilkins, President and Chief Executive Officer of Barrick.

Barrick is one of the world's leading gold producers traded under the ticker symbol ABX on the Toronto, New York, London and Swiss stock exchanges and the Paris Bourse.

--30--SH/na*