Barrick and Newmont CEOs depart in mining leadership shake-up

LONDON: Barrick Mining appointed veteran executive Mark Hill as interim president and CEO on Monday following the sudden resignation of Mark Bristow, who led the Canadian miner for nearly seven years after its merger with Randgold Resources.

On the same day, rival Newmont said CEO Tom Palmer will be replaced in January by insider Natascha Viljoen, who will become the first female CEO of the world’s biggest gold mining company. The timing of the statements appeared to be coincidental.

The global mining industry has experienced a period of significant transition as an investor push for stronger growth and returns has driven leadership changes across the sector. Rio Tinto earlier this year appointed a new CEO, and the world’s largest mining company BHP is also preparing to replace its chief.

In a note, analysts at Citi said that, while Palmer’s departure from Newmont was “well flagged” and unlikely to spark a major stock reaction, the Bristow announcement was “more surprising”.

Bristow, who became CEO in 2019 when Barrick acquired Randgold, oversaw the integration of the two companies and steered the miner through a period of significant portfolio reshaping and debt reduction.

He said in May he would stay in his current role until 2028, which would have allowed him to oversee the development of the company’s Reko Diq copper and gold project in Pakistan.

The news of his departure therefore “comes suddenly”, RBC Capital Markets analyst Josh Wolfson said, and in the near term could overshadow Barrick’s update this month on its Fourmile discovery in Nevada, which the company said has potential to become one of the world’s leading gold assets.

“Barrick CEO succession has been a consistent investor question for some time,” Wolfson said in a note. “Following today’s news, we believe the strategic outlook of Barrick is less certain.”

Hill, who will also continue to serve as group chief operating officer, takes charge immediately as the board begins a global search for a permanent CEO with the help of an external firm, named by one source as Egon Zehnder.