Barrick Gold's Pueblo Viejo gold mine in Cotui, Dominican Republic, in 2013. The gold miner has made a slew of leadership changes since last fall.Ricardo Rojas/Reuters
Barrick Mining Corp. ABX-T is parting ways with its long-time chief financial officer Graham Shuttleworth, the latest leadership change at the big Canadian gold miner as it works with an activist shareholder behind the scenes to reinvigorate the company after a long period of underperformance.
In a statement on Monday, Toronto-based Barrick said that Mr. Shuttleworth, who had been at the company for seven years, is leaving after it files its year-end financial results. Mr. Shuttleworth joined the company after it acquired Randgold Resources Ltd. in 2019, and for decades worked alongside Mark Bristow, the former chief executive officer of Barrick.
On March 1, Mr. Shuttleworth will be replaced by current Barrick board member Helen Cai, a resident of China, and a former equity analyst and investment banker with state-controlled China International Capital Corp. Ms. Cai earlier worked as an analyst with Goldman Sachs in the United States, and has more than two decades of experience in the mining, industrial and technology sectors. She was educated at Tsinghua University in China and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the U.S.
In a statement on Monday, Barrick interim CEO Mark Hill said her financial expertise and mining sector track record “will be invaluable as we focus on driving improved performance.”
U.S. activist investor Elliott Investment Management LP last year amassed a $1-billion stake in the Canadian gold miner and has been agitating for change, including a possible split of the company. Barrick later said was considering an initial public offering of a minority stake in its North American mines.
Opinion: For Barrick’s mess, board chair John Thornton deserves as much blame as the ousted CEO
Canada’s second-biggest gold miner has unveiled several rounds of leadership changes over the past few months, beginning with the abrupt departure of Mr. Bristow in late September. The company cut ties with several more executives in November, including Kevin Thomson, senior executive vice-president of strategic matters, and Christine Keener, chief operating officer for North America.
When Ms. Cai was hired as a board member in 2021, Barrick’s then-executive chair, John Thornton, trumpeted her acumen in both U.S. and Chinese capital markets. In a statement at the time, he said that Barrick’s partnerships with Chinese mining companies set “a good precedent for effective collaboration.”
Barrick in 2015 and 2017 under Mr. Thornton negotiated joint venture agreements with state-controlled Chinese mining companies at both its Porgera operations in Papua New Guinea and its Veladero mine in Argentina. Barrick’s relationship with Chinese investors has generally slowed since then in line with Canada’s mostly hawkish relationship with the Asian superpower.
During this decade, Canada has largely shunned investment from China in critical minerals because of national security concerns. Ottawa has been more flexible in its approach to allowing gold sector deals, although there have been exceptions. In 2020, the federal government blocked the planned acquisition of Canadian gold miner TMAC Resources Ltd. by Shandong Gold Mining Co. Ltd.
However, since taking office last year, Prime Minister Mark Carney has started rebuilding Canada’s relationship with China in a bid to diversify trade away from reliance on the U.S. Last week, he announced a material reduction in tariffs on imports of Chinese electric cars. He also said he is open to significantly more inbound investment from China in an array of sectors, although mining wasn’t mentioned specifically.
As Barrick has unveiled its leadership and strategy changes over the past few months, its stock has performed strongly, returning nearly 50 per cent since late September. Gold bullion has also raced to all-time highs several times during that period.
Barrick has long traded at a discount to peers such as Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. in large part because of its heavy exposure to risky jurisdictions such as Africa, the Middle East, Pakistan and Papua New Guinea.
Last year, Barrick was forced to shut down its Malian operations after clashing with the country’s military leadership over a new mining code. The company in November reached an agreement with Mali to end the dispute, but the terms of the deal were not made public.