Barrick Gold (TSX: ABX; NYSE: GOLD), the world's second-largest producer of the precious metal, expects first-quarter gold output to fall by 8.5%, as it has had to scale down operations due to measures to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Barrick now expects to churn out 1.25 million oz. gold in the first three months of the year, slightly below the 1.37 million oz. it produced in the first quarter of 2019.
The gold major remains confident, however, that it will make its annual production guidance of between 4.8 million and 5.2 million oz. gold.
Most mining companies have been forced to halt or curtail production due to government-imposed lockdowns to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
Unprecedented disruptions to operations and supply chains have muddied the outlook for industrial and precious metals, while the IMF warns of the steepest recession in almost a century.
The Canadian gold senior said in March it would stockpile key commodities to prepare for the possibility that the pandemic could shutter its mines.
In the past year, Barrick has been focusing on its 'tier one' assets and has reported strong performance across the group, particularly at the Cortez mine in Nevada and Veladero in Argentina.
It has also boosted production at Kibali, Congo's biggest gold mine, which last year beat its production guidance of 750,000 oz. gold by a substantial margin, delivering a new record of 814,027 ounces.
Porgera in Papua New Guinea has tier one potential, but faces many challenges in the form of "legacy issues and an unruly neighbourhood," Barrick's president and CEO, Mark Bristow, said last month.
He noted that the mine had exceeded guidance and the company continued to negotiate a 20-year lease extension with the government.
Bristow, who took the helm in January 2019, said the work done over the past months had equipped Barrick to become the most valued gold company by 2030.
- This article first appeared in our sister publication, MINING.com.