Barrick Gold Drops 3% Following Release Of Project Study Results

Shares of Barrick Gold Corporation ABX were trading lower by around 3 percent ahead of Monday's opening bell after the company reported the results of various studies on projects at its Cotez, Goldrush, Lagunas Norte and Turquoise Ridge facilities.

Barrick Gold concluded that the company can maintain its annual gold production of at least 4.5 million ounces of gold through 2020. The company added that its four projects also represent "attractive opportunities" to maintain and grow its free cash flow beyond 2020.

Barrick Gold also said it will update investors on key milestones as its four projects advance through the various stages of development.

"These are dynamic projects that continue to evolve," Barrick Gold noted. "They are evaluated against our 15 percent hurdle rate as they advance through each stage of the development process. We assess returns using our long-term gold price, currently set at $1,200 per ounce. We are focused on continually strengthening the economics of our projects as we incorporate further design improvements identified through detailed engineering and by the potential addition of new reserves and resources. Capital estimates contained within prefeasibility studies may increase or decrease as a result of changes incorporated at the feasibility study stage."