Engineering & Mining Journal

JUN 2012

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NEWS-LEADING DEVELOPMENTS Citing Poor Share Performance, Barrick Appoints New CEO the position of CEO. Prices slid further fol- lowing the announcement. "I feel enormously privileged to take on this role at Barrick, a company that com- bines operational excellence and financial strength with a track record of successful execution," Sokalsky said. "My focus will be on maximizing shareholder value and our mission of superior performance." Jamie Sokalsky joined Barrick as treas- urer in 1993 and became CFO in 1999. Jamie Sokalsky (inset) will replace Aaron Regent (above) as CEO of Barrick Gold, the largest gold producer. (Photo courtesy of Reuters/Mike Cassese). Barrick Gold Corp. has appointed Executive Vice President and CFO Jamie Sokalsky president and CEO, replacing Aaron Regent, who had held the position since January 2009. Sokalsky will also replace Regent on Barrick's board of directors. In addition, John L. Thornton, currently a Barrick director, has been appointed co- chairman of Barrick's board of directors. "On behalf of our board, I would like to thank Aaron for his significant contribution to Barrick's development. We are fully committed to maximizing shareholder value, but have been disappointed with our share price performance. Our board has every confidence in Jamie's experience and commitment to take our company for- ward," said Peter Munk, founder and chair- man, Barrick Gold. During Regent's tenure, Barrick elimi- nated its gold hedge, completed the Placer Dome acquisition, and acquired Equinox Minerals, which gave the gold miner expo- sure to Zambian copper. The company also successfully launched the Cortez Hills mine and announced two major gold dis- coveries in Nevada. The company will bring the Pueblo Viejo mine online in the Dominican Republic soon. During the past year, the company stock has dropped from a high of about $56/share to $42/share, about the same level as when he accepted Rio Tinto and Chalco Finalize Simandou Joint Venture Following completion of all Chinese regulato- ry approvals, Rio Tinto and Chalco have com- pleted the formation of their joint venture to develop and operate the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea. As a result, a consortium led by Chalco has made an earn-in payment of $1.35 billion, in line with an agreement reached with Rio Tinto in March 2010. Rio Tinto and the Chalco consortium now hold 53% and 47% interests, respec- tively, in the joint venture, which translates into 50.35% and 44.65% interests in the Simandou project. The International Finance Corporation holds the remaining 5% of the project. The Government of Guinea retains options for participation in the project and is expected to take up its first share in the near future. The Simandou project has three princi- pal components: a 95-million-mt/y iron ore mine in the Simandou Range in south east- ern Guinea; a trans-Guinean railway of approximately 650 km to transport the ore from the mining concession to the Guinean coast; and a new, deep-water port current- ly planned to be located south of Conakry in the Forécariah prefecture. The first ship- ment of ore is expected by mid-2015. Simandou South will be the largest inte- grated iron ore mine and infrastructure project ever developed in Africa. Barrick's stock performance over the past five years has been "disappointing," according to Barrick Chairman Peter Munk. 4 E&MJ; • JUNE 2012 AngloGold Ashanti Budgets for Projects AngloGold Ashanti's board of directors has approved investments totaling $1.9 billion over the next five years to expand its Cripple Creek & Victor (CC&V;) mine in Colorado, USA, and to develop the Mongbwalu and Kibali projects in the www.e-mj.com

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