Barrick to book $429-million Q4 charge on mired Pascua-Lama

Major miner Barrick Gold expects to book a pre-tax impairment in the fourth quarter ended December 31 of about $429-million at its stalled Pascua-Lama copper/gold project, which straddles the border between Chile and Argentina. The NYSE- and TSX-listed company advised that it is reclassifying about 14-million ounces of gold in the proven and probable reserve categories back to the measured and indicated resource categories, which are not considered viable to base a mine plan on.