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the epithermal field in this part of the world, why it is a bit of a surprise even to technical Merchant Ventures (BMV).
I tell people it is a bit like the epithermal pro- experts, so when they come on site visits, “We mainly talk about the exploration
jects in the Drummond Basin in Queens- they are blown away by the rocks we are plays and the reason for that is we have a
land or Santa Cruz in South America when uncovering. We’re doing something similar feeling that we are going to be making dis-
they were first being discovered,” Mitchell albeit at an earlier stage.” coveries which may be somewhat bigger
said. Making new discoveries will be the day- than what we are talking about, particularly
“People know about Vera-Nancy and to-day “engine room” of the company, de- when it comes to Kochang. Kochang and
things like that. This is the Korean equiva- spite the near-term production prospects at Gubong will continue on as we move for-
lent and it is fair to say that Korea has not Kochang and Gubong. ward,” Mitchell said.
been well recognised in academic circles The Kochang and Gubong JVs are oper-
for this epithermal mineralisation. That is ated by Southern Gold’s partner Bluebird – Mark Andrews

Southern Gold has recruited the
services of Ausino to conduct
drilling for them in South Korea

Barrick sees no rival for Grasberg

arrick Gold Corp chief executive Mark Rio Tinto sold out its Grasberg stake in Guinea, where Barrick has struggled with
BBristow last month said he saw no 2018. unrest and the Government is seeking
competition from rivals in his pursuit of “It’s reckless to go and do a hostile in increased benefits from the Porgera JV
Freeport-McMoran Inc’s Grasberg cop- a complicated jurisdiction or a complex, with China’s Zijin Mining.
per-gold mine in Indonesia but cautioned old corporation, because the embedded Resolving that impasse would give Bar-
any deal for the asset would take time to liabilities are significant,” Bristow told Re- rick licence with investors to expand in In-
pull off. uters at Barrick’s Toronto headquarters donesia, Bristow said.
Bristow has fanned speculation that after the company reported a better-than- “How that works out under my manage-
Barrick, the world’s No.2 gold miner, is expected quarterly profit. “So, it’s got to ment is going to be important on whether
poised to deepen its exposure to copper be something that works out for the best the market will give me that slack to con-
and expressed interest in acquiring Free- interests of everyone.” tinue to pursue world-class assets in that
port’s flagship Grasberg mine. A Freeport representative did not im- environment,” he said.
Grasberg ranks as the world’s second- mediately respond to a request for com- Barrick has a full geological team and
largest copper mine and largest gold ment. has signed a handful of confidentiality
mine and would enable Barrick to take Bristow said there was no deal on the agreements to access data at some of the
advantage of rising demand for copper in table but said his comments were aimed more entrepreneurial miners in Canada,
the electric vehicle industry. at sending a message to the market. Any Bristow said, declining to provide names.
In an interview, Bristow ruled out a hos- transaction could take years to execute, “We’re hunting in Canada, but we are
tile approach for Freeport while reiterat- he said. very clear about our investment filters.”
ing interest in Grasberg. Barrick has been selling its less pro- Barrick boosted its dividend by 40%,
“There’s no competition for Grasberg,” ductive mines to focus on Tier 1 assets benefiting from higher gold output and
he said. “First of all, it’s held in a US com- following the acquisition of Rangold Re- improved prices.
pany so no Chinese company can access sources a year ago. Bristow is also seek- – Jeff Lewis, Reuters
it. Secondly, Rio Tinto [Ltd] sold out of it.” ing to resolve a dispute in Papua New

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