Daily Times

Barrick Gold Corp. Mark Bristow said on Wednesday nothing had been finalized yet in talks between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia for the latter to pick up a partial stake in Reko Diq mines. Bristow also said he was not interested in “piecemeal” discussions when asked whether the company would consider bidding for any of First Quantum Minerals Ltd’s assets and the company did not meet First Quantum shareholders as part of any roadshow to gauge their support for a potential takeover, following a media report to that effect last month. “I’m not interested in working on any sort of piecemeal discussion,” Bristow told Reuters in an interview after the company reported quarterly earnings. First Quantum, which is dealing with the fallout of an order to close its flagship copper mine in Panama that accounted for about 40 percent of its revenues, said last month it is exploring options to “manage its balance sheet,” including selling smaller mines and bringing strategic investors into its larger mines. The company has lost more than half the market value since street protests in Panama eventually resulted in the court order of mine closure, after a ruling that its contract to operate the facility was unconstitutional.