Gold merger will create industry 'superpower'

The merger between Barrick Gold (domiciled in Canada and dual-listed on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges) and Randgold Resources (domiciled in Jersey and dual-listed on the London and Nasdaq stock exchanges), announced last month and still awaiting shareholder and regulatory approvals, will create a “superpower” in the gold industry. This is the view of Fitch Solutions Macro Research, which is part of the Fitch Group. Provisionally designated “New Barrick”, the new company will own half of the world’s ten top Tier 1 gold assets. (A Tier 1 gold mine is defined as one having a minimum annual production of 500 000 t and total cash costs in the lower 50% of the industry cost curve, over a life of at least ten years.)