auf die Board-Umstrukturierung und den neuen Strategie Focus reagiert. Hier noch ein aktueller Bericht vom WSJ:
Barrick Gold to Focus on China, Chairman Says
Barrick to Consider Increasing Exposure to Copper and Silver
Dec. 4, 2013 8:22 p.m. ET
TORONTO--Barrick Gold Corp. will focus on establishing long-term relationships with Chinese partners but has no current plans to sell its Pascua Lama project or its majority stake in African Barrick Gold PLC, two sources of trouble for the world's largest gold miner in recent years, Co-Chairman John Thornton said Wednesday.
Mr. Thornton, who will become the company's sole chairman next year, said Barrick would consider increasing its exposure to copper and silver over time, depending on the price of those metals, scotching persistent market talk that Barrick wants to sell out of its copper projects.
"I believe that [China] more than any other will drive [the world economy] certainly over the next two decades," Mr. Thornton said in an interview.
Still, Mr. Thornton said Barrick was not currently in talks about specific transactions and denied reports that it is talking to China Investment Corp.
"What we are not looking to do is to have a transactional relationship with the Chinese," Mr. Thornton said. "What we are looking to do is to have a long-term enduring strategic relationship."
On Wednesday, Barrick confirmed that founder and co-chairman Peter Munk will retire at the company's next annual meeting, leaving Mr. Thornton as sole chairman. The company also announced the departure of two other directors and said it would nominate four more. The Barrick board has been criticized by investors as not having enough independence from Mr. Munk, a criticism the company sought to quell with these appointments.
Mr. Thornton is a former president and co-chief executive of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and has served on the boards of many companies including Ford Motor Co.
Mr. Thornton said that after the annual meeting, 10 out of the 14 directors will be independent, against the current seven out of 13.
"So in one fell swoop it is quite a dramatic change," he said.
Mr. Munk denied that there has been tension among directors over the board's composition. According to one person familiar with the matter, several directors had felt that some of the nominees being proposed would be perceived as not being independent enough of Mr. Munk. Some investors have also worried that Mr. Munk would continue to try and exert influence on the board, even attending meetings.
Mr. Munk in the same interview did not rule out any future involvement in the board after he officially steps down, saying he has experience and contacts that are valuable to the company. But the well-known Canadian businessman said he won't get involved unless asked by the directors.
"As long as they ask me I will be giving every bit of advice...[but] if they don't ask me I will be sailing on my yacht," he said.
Mr. Munk said he takes full responsibility for some of Barrick's recent mistakes, including problems associated with Pascua Lama, a giant copper and gold project that straddles the border between Chile and Argentina and the $7.65 billion takeover of Equinox Minerals Ltd. in 2011. Pascua Lama has experienced sharp cost overruns and the Equinox purchase was made at the top of the commodity cycle.
"Guilty," he said.
Both men rejected the idea of selling Pascua Lama, as some investors have suggested. Mr. Thornton, however, said that he would have nothing against selling a stake in it. The former investment banker said that, while it is management's job to make the decisions, he would advise against selling African Barrick Gold, given that it is currently turning its fortunes around and should continue to do so.
Mr. Thornton also said the company would continue to try and sell underperforming mines, a strategy of the current management. Money raised could be used to pay down the company's debt, which is the largest in the gold mining sector.
Analysts have said debt reduction should remain a priority. Mr. Thornton agrees.
"If we can sell underperforming assets, we will sell them" to help cut the debt load, he said. "If that's not sufficient we will take other actions," he said. However, the co-chairman ruled another big equity offering, given the company's relatively low stock price. Last month Barrick raised $3 billion in an equity offering.
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