TORONTO
Barrick Mining Corp. has filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering of a new company that will hold its North American gold assets.
The Toronto-based miner said in a press release Tuesday that the planned new publicly listed company will be named American Barrick Gold Corporation.
American Barrick has filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the SEC in connection with the proposed IPO.
American Barrick intends to apply to list its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol 'ABGC'.
The number of shares to be offered and the proposed price range for the IPO have not yet been determined.
Net proceeds from the IPO will be distributed to Barrick, which Barrick expects to return to its shareholders.
Barrick chief executive Mark Hill said Monday in a conference call that after the filing of the S-1, the SEC will provide feedback to the company and the timing of the IPO will be either later this year or early next year.
The offering is subject to market and other conditions, including completion of the SEC review process.
There is no indication it plans to list in Canada.
The proposed IPO of 10 per cent of the North American business is a key part of the Canadian gold miner’s strategy to win back investor approval after many years of underperforming industry peers.
Barrick has already announced a management split, with Hill poised to run the North American unit and Sebastiaan Bock leading Barrick International, the company’s operations outside North America.
The American Barrick registration statement on Form S-1 includes subpart 1300 of SEC Regulation S-K Technical Report Summaries for the Nevada Gold Mines Complex and Pueblo Viejo, as well as an SK-1300 Initial Assessment for the Fourmile project.
Barrick intends to file a National Instrument 43-101 Preliminary Economic Analysis for the Fourmile project within 45 days of this press release.
The press release states that the proposed offering will be made to the public only by means of a prospectus filed with the SEC.
It also contains forward-looking statements, noting that the words "expects", "plans", "will", "believes", "can", "may" and similar expressions identify such statements.
In particular, the release contains forward-looking statements with respect to the expectation that American Barrick will complete its previously announced IPO in the United States and the listing of its stock on the New York Stock Exchange.
In April, Barrick said it was on track for the initial public offering by the end of the year.
This story was written by the e2gold.ca newsroom from reporting by The Globe and Mail, Yahoo News, Barrick Mining Corporation and Toronto Star. Quotes are checked word for word against that reporting.