Canada’s Barrick Gold, the world’s largest gold miner, said it will consider joint acquisition opportunities with its partner Shandong Gold Group.
Barrick said it had signed an “enhanced strategic cooperation” agreement with the Chinese miner on Monday following its acquisition of half of Barrick’s Veladero mine in Argentina last year.
“The Parties have agreed to consider opportunities to work together on acquisition opportunities or potential asset sales, if both parties agree it is in their collective best interests, and would enhance the value of such an opportunity,” Barrick said.
The tie-up is the latest initiative of Barrick’s Chairman John Thornton, a former Goldman Sachs banker who has close links to China. In 2015 Barrick also signed a cooperation agreement with China’s Zijin Mining.
“This agreement will allow us to take our partnership to the next level, as we jointly explore opportunities to enhance long-term value for our respective owners, as well as our government and community partners,” Mr Thornton said.
Barrick has previously said that it is considering a partnership with Shandong Gold to develop its troubled Pascua-Lama project on the border of Argentina and Chile. Barrick said in February it took a $429m impairment on the project.