MELBOURNE, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Barrick Gold Corp has ruled out a counterbid for Australia's No. 1 gold producer Newcrest Mining, its chief executive said, after the world's top gold producer Newmont Corp emerged with a $16.9 billion bid.

While the bid could trigger rival producers to consider a counter move amid sector consolidation, the world's second biggest gold producer is not interested in making a higher offer, Mark Bristow told Bloomberg.

“There is a difference between value merger acquisitions and getting bigger for the sake of getting bigger,” Bristow said in a Monday interview with Bloomberg.

A source told Reuters on Monday that U.S.-based Newmont Corp was open to slightly increasing its $16.9 billion offer, amid concerns its current bid is too low after recent leadership changes at the Australian company. (Reporting by Melanie Burton; Editing by Kim Coghill)