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Canadian miner Barrick Gold revealed significant gains in the fourth quarter of 2024 (Q4 2024), with gold production increasing by 15% and copper production by 33%, compared with Q3.
The company met its annual guidance with full-year attributable gold production of 3.91 million ounces (moz).
It reported a 23% increase in its gold mineral reserves in 2024 compared with the previous year, now standing at 89moz at 0.99 grams per tonne (g/t).
The growth is primarily due to the conversion of resources to mineral reserves at Reko Diq, following a feasibility study, adding 13moz of gold at 0.28g/t.
This has contributed to a fourth consecutive year of annual depletion replacement at a 4% higher grade, supporting the company in maintaining asset quality and extending the life of its operations.
Net earnings saw an increase of 69% to $2.14bn, while attributable earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 30% to $5.19bn in 2024, the highest in more than a decade.
Operating cash flow grew by 20% to $4.49bn, and free cash flow more than doubled to $1.32bn, driven by stronger earnings.
The company maintained a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share and returned $498m to shareholders through share buybacks.
The company has launched a new programme to repurchase up to $1bn in outstanding common shares over the next 12 months at market prices.
Barrick Gold also reported a 224% year-on-year increase in attributable copper mineral reserves, reaching 18 million tonnes (mt) at 0.45% grade, up from 5.6mt at 0.39% in 2023.
The growth follows the completion of feasibility studies at Lumwana and Reko Diq, confirming both as potential Tier One copper assets.
The studies added 13mt of new attributable copper reserves, equivalent to 73moz of gold.
Meanwhile, Barrick's Fourmile project is advancing to prefeasibility, driven by a 2024 drilling programme.
Looking ahead to 2025, Barrick expects attributable gold production of 3.15moz–3.5moz, excluding Loulo-Gounkoto during its temporary suspension.
Attributable copper production is projected to rise from 195,000 tonnes (t) in 2024 to 200,000–230,000t.
The company's CEO, Mark Bristow, expressed openness to engaging with the Malian Government to find a mutually beneficial solution.
Bristow said: “While ongoing issues in Mali remain an investor concern, which have overly weighed on the share price, Barrick’s fundamental value proposition has never been stronger. As such, we have capitalised on the undervaluation of our shares by increasing our repurchases, and we have renewed our $1bn share buyback programme for the upcoming year.