Barrick Mining’s (NYSE:B) recent appointment of Sebastiaan Bock as CEO, Rest of World, signals the company’s continued interest in working with Chinese partners through co-investment and joint partnerships.
As previously reported, Bock will lead the company’s gold and copper operations outside of North America and will be reporting to President and CEO Mark Hill. Bock joined Barrick as senior VP and CFO for Africa and the Middle East in January 2019, before being appointed COO for the region in July 2022.
In his statement on the appointment, Chairman John Thornton noted that outside of North America, the portfolio that Bock will take on has a distinct advantage: “our ability to work with Chinese partners, including joint mine ownership and co-investment”.
“This can enable higher efficiency; broader access to advanced technologies, including those revolutionising exploration, operations, processing, and information management; access to leading equipment suppliers and comprehensive and agile supply chain solutions; and partnership opportunities including shared infrastructure, resources, and solutions, to derisk and improve outcomes,” Thornton says.
Barrick’s rest of world portfolio spans copper and gold assets across Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia Pacific, producing over 2 million gold equivalent ounces a year. The company has signalled a plan to grow this by more than 20% over the next three years.
The company already has several joint ventures (JVs) in place with Chinese companies, including at the Porgera gold mine in Papua New Guinea, which is operated through Barrick Niugini, a JV with Zijin Mining (SHA:601899); and the Veladero mine in Argentina, a JV with Shandong Gold (HKG:1787)
Analysts have noted that this statement by Thornton signals the potential for Barrick to build more partnerships with Chinese firms that could help position the company in higher-risk jurisdictions with strong financial backing.
Manhattan Uranium appoints US defence policy expert
Manhattan Uranium (TSX-V:MANU) has announced the appointment of Dennis Bartow II as a strategic advisor, strengthening the company’s engagement with US federal financing programs and domestic nuclear fuel security policy.
Bartow is a critical minerals and national security specialist, with experience advising companies on securing US Government financing and strategic partnerships.
He was previously director of the US Department of Defense Office of Small Business Programs, serving as principal advisor to the secretary of defense on international security, leading the Pentagon’s global strategic competition effort, with a focus on defence.
In his early career, Bartow served in INTERPOL Washington’s Counterterrorism Division as a military expert, leading a US Department of State-funded initiative with five African nations to combat maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea. He also spent five years as a US congressional staffer.
Bartow’s appointment comes amid a growing focus on securing critical defence metals for Western supply chains. The US Government is also pushing to build a resilient defence industrial base to meet its national security needs, with support from the US Defense Industrial Base Consortium (DIBC).
Manhattan Uranium Discovery is a newly consolidated company focused on the discovery, development, and advancement of uranium assets in the US and Canada.
Write to Amy Rotman at Mining.com.au
Images: Barrick, Manhattan Uranium Discovery
