Newmont And Barrick Expand Nevada Gold Mines joint venture

Barrick Gold and Newmont Mining have finalised an agreement to expand their Nevada Gold Mining (NGM) joint venture to include a number of nearby gold projects, according to a regulatory filing. 

The deal expands the JV to include Barrick’s Fourmile project and Newmont’s Fiberline and Mike developments. The Fourmile project is a promising high-grade gold deposit adjacent to its Goldrush project. As part of the agreement, Newmont has also agreed to pay Barrick US$1.95bn in cash.

The agreement stipulates that these properties will be added to the joint venture within 30 days following the contribution of the Fourmile project, which is expected to enhance the operational synergy of Nevada Gold Mines.  

Newmont had been involved in a protracted dispute with Barrick over the inclusion of excluded properties, including Barrick’s Fourmile and Newmont’s Fiberline and Mike developments, in the NGM joint venture. The dispute was resolved in August 2026.

Barrick plans

The dispute between Newmont and Barrick regarding the NGM emerged when Barrick announced plans to spin off its North American gold assets into a separate company at the beginning of 2026. 

Progress on this sale has been slowed during the legal disagreement, given the material impact the inclusion or exclusion of the Fourmile project from the NGM would have had on the valuation of any potential Newco.  

Newmont confirmed that it consented to Barrick’s proposed IPO of its North American gold assets, following the resolution of all outstanding disputes. 

Shortly after the agreement was announced, Barrick confirmed the appointment of Sebastiaan Bock as CEO, Rest of World, with immediate effect. Sebastiaan will lead Barrick’s gold and copper operations and projects outside North America and will report to Mark, who remains President and CEO of Barrick.

“I am excited to accept this new role quite simply because what Barrick does, matters,” Sebastiaan said at the time. 

“It matters to the thousands of employees and stakeholders I’ve been honoured to work with over the years. It matters to the communities where we work to create lasting and shared benefits. It matters to our investors whose wellbeing is affected by how well our work is done. These partnerships will allow us to realize the benefits of our unique rest-of-world strengths.”

Historical context

The Nevada Gold Mines joint venture was formed in July 2020, combining the substantial Nevada assets of the two gold mining companies, which have operated independently in Nevada for decades, but had previously been unable to agree terms for cooperation. 

When the agreement was originally reached, the joint venture was expected to offer an estimated US$500m in average annual pre-tax synergies in the first five full years of the combination. 

The combined Nevada Gold Mines produced over 4m ounces of gold in 2018, the last full year before the joint venture was agreed. Looking forward, the inclusion of new properties and the resolution of disputes are expected to further bolster NGM’s position as a leading gold producer.

Meet the partners

Barrick Mining - Barrick is a leading global mining, exploration, and development company. With one of the largest portfolios of world-class and long-life gold and copper assets in the industry, Barrick’s operations and projects span 17 countries and five continents. Barrick is also the largest gold producer in the United States. 

Newmont - Newmont is the world’s leading gold company in terms of assets, prospects and people. Newmont is also a producer of copper, zinc, lead, silver and molybdenum. Newmont has actively operating mines in nine countries across the globe.

Nevada Gold Mines - Nevada Gold Mines, operated by Barrick Mining Corporation is a joint venture between Barrick (61.5%) and Newmont (38.5%) that combined their significant assets across Nevada in 2019 to create the single largest gold-producing complex in the world.