Barrick's Canadian Exit Opens The Doors For US Redomiciliation

Barrick Gold Corp. GOLD, the world's second-largest gold miner, is preparing to exit Canada completely by selling its final domestic asset—the Hemlo gold mine in Ontario. Surging gold prices triggered the company's decision to optimize its portfolio, focusing on higher-margin operations.

Located near Marathon, Ontario, Hemlo has been in continuous production for over 30 years, yielding more than 21 million ounces of gold to date. The mine is now exclusively underground, contributing to its high all-in sustaining costs (AISC) of $1,769 per ounce.

Last year, it produced approximately 143,000 ounces of gold—about 3.5% of Barrick's total output. At current gold prices (around $3,400 per ounce) and the same AISC, the mine's annual profits would be around $234 million.

Also Read: Barrick Gold Proposes Name Change, Targets 30% Production Growth By 2030

Per Bloomberg's report, Barrick has not disclosed a sale price, but the asset holds proven and probable reserves of 1.6 million ounces and measured and indicated resources of 3.4 million ounces.

With a long production history and remaining life, Hemlo could appeal to mid-tier producers or private equity players seeking exposure to gold-rich Ontario.

The sale continues the portfolio optimization process, which most recently included a $1.1 billion deal to exit Alaska's Donlin Gold project, selling its stake to NovaGold Resources and Paulson & Co. Trimming the portfolio will allow Barrick to focus on its core operations, such as Nevada's Cortez complex and world-class copper-gold projects in Zambia and Pakistan.

Once Hemlo is sold, Barrick—though still headquartered in Toronto—will no longer own any operating assets in Canada, marking the end of an era for a company started by the Hungarian-Canadian entrepreneur Peter Munk.

Munk, who was the CEO for the first formative decade and remained a chairman until 2014, opposed any move away from Canada during his tenure. Yet, under the leadership of Mark Bristow since 2019, the firm started taking a different shape, looking toward the U.S., Africa, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific.

Bristow also cut head office jobs in Toronto, moved the company's legal domicile to British Columbia for its looser regulatory requirements, and centralized decision-making closer to mine sites.

The Hemlo sale could impact the firm's decision to leave Canada completely and redomicile in the U.S., making Barrick part of the S&P 500 Index, triggering automatic buying from numerous investors seeking index exposure.

"There's no doubt that that market is the right place to be," Bristow said for The Globe and Mail, discussing the matter two months ago. "How to get there has always been our challenge, and you know, maybe with the Trump administration, things change," he noted.

Price Watch: Barrick is up 25.05% year-to-date, closing at $19.97 on Tuesday.

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