Barrick Expects Gold Output This Year of 3.9 Million-4.3M Ounces — Commodity Comment

By Robb M. Stewart

Barrick Gold issued its production forecast for 2024.

On gold forecast:

The Canadian miner, one of the world's biggest producers of gold, forecast output of the precious metal would decline in 2024 to between 3.9 million and 4.3 million troy ounces, after slipping 2.1% in 2023 to 4.05 million ounces.

Cash costs per ounce are projected at $940 to $1,020, and the all-in sustaining cost for gold production is expected to be $1,320 to $1,420 an ounce. That compares with a rise in average cash costs last year to $960 an ounce, and an all-in sustaining cost of $1,335.

On copper forecast:

Production of copper, increasingly in demand for electric vehicles and wind- and solar-energy production, is anticipated to be 180,000 to 210,000 metric tons. Copper output in 2023 dropped 4.5% to 420 million pounds.

Barrick said that from this year it will present copper production and sales in tons rather than pounds. One ton is equivalent to 2,204.6 pounds.

The basic C1 measure of cash costs for mining are expected at between $2 and $2.30 a pound, and the all-in sustaining cost at $3.10 to $3.40 a pound of copper. C1 cash costs rose to $2.28 a pound last year, and the copper all-in sustaining cost edged up to $3.21 a pound.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 14, 2024 08:30 ET (13:30 GMT)

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