Barrick Beats a Digital Retreat -- WSJ
December 07 2018 - 2:02AM
Dow Jones News
By Alistair MacDonald and Jacquie McNish
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (December 7, 2018).
Barrick Gold Corp., the world's largest gold miner, is selling a
research-and-development company it owns and is cutting staff hired
to lead what executives had called a digital reinvention,
championed by Executive Chairman John Thornton, people familiar
with the matter said.
The move comes shortly after the company agreed to buy Randgold
Resources Ltd. for $6 billion in an all-share merger -- a move that
would solidify Barrick as the world's largest gold producer by
output.
That merger is set to close in January, and incoming Chief
Executive Mark Bristow has said he plans to sell a variety of
noncore assets, cut costs and shrink head-office management in an
effort to delegate more authority to regional mining
operations.
One of the first assets to go on the block is Barrick-owned
AuTec Innovative Extractive Solutions Ltd., a Vancouver-based
company that specializes in testing mineral samples and processing,
people familiar with the matter said.
In recent months, Barrick has also disbanded or shrunk
technology based teams at its head office in Toronto and at mining
operations in Nevada, people familiar with the matter said. The
teams were launched by Mr. Thornton to develop things like software
that tracked sensors on underground mining staff, or collected data
on processing equipment that could help predict when maintenance
was needed, according to these people. Progress on the projects had
been slow, a senior Barrick official told the media late last
year.
In November, Sham Chotai, the miner's chief digital officer and
a former Silicon Valley executive, left the company, another person
familiar with the matter said.
Barrick also cut by around two-thirds its in-house coding hub in
Elko, Nev., and cut staff at s sister site at Henderson, Nev.,
these people said. The miner had described Elko as "the epicenter
for Barrick's ambitious digital transformation" on its website.
Barrick said in September that it was parting with its chief of
innovation, Michelle Ash. All but three of her Toronto-based team
of 20 have also left the company, according to a person familiar
with the matter.
People working on Barrick's digitization program said that while
the project started well it lacked consistent support at the
boardroom level and funding was soon cut, one of the people
familiar with the matter said.
A Barrick spokesman said technology "will continue to be a key
driver" as it looks to shrink corporate management and evaluate all
jobs.
Barrick also recently hired bankers to sell its Lagunas Norte
gold mine in Peru, other people familiar with the matter said. The
company is also reviewing a possible sale of its Hemlo gold mine in
Canada and its 50% stake in its Kalgoorlie mine in Australia, these
people said. Barrick has in the past tried to sell these mines, or
said that it will.
Write to Alistair MacDonald at alistair.macdonald@wsj.com and
Jacquie McNish at Jacquie.McNish@wsj.com
Corrections & Amplifications Barrick said in September that
it was parting with its chief of innovation, Michelle Ash. An
earlier version of this article incorrectly stated her last name as
Ashe. (12/6/18)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 07, 2018 02:47 ET (07:47 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Randgold Resources Limited ADS Each Represented BY One Ordinary Share (delisted) (NASDAQ:GOLD)
Historical Stock Chart
From Nov 2024 to Dec 2024
Randgold Resources Limited ADS Each Represented BY One Ordinary Share (delisted) (NASDAQ:GOLD)
Historical Stock Chart
From Dec 2023 to Dec 2024
