Barrick Gold Corporation GOLD announced that it has settled most of the North Mara legacy land claims and paid the first tranche of the $300-million settlement. Notably, Barrick made an agreement with the Tanzanian government to resolve the disputes it inherited from Acacia Mining.

Per Barrick’s arrangement with the government, the shipping of around 1,600 containers of concentrate stockpiled from Buzwagi and Bulyanhulu resumed in April. Moreover, the government obtained the first $100 million received from the sale. The company also stated that all material issues regarding the matter had been dealt with or were being finalized. The government will receive another five annual payments of $40 million each. Meanwhile, around 90% of the outstanding land claims at North Mara have been settled with payment.

Since acquiring North Mara, Barrick is focused on improving the mine’s water management with special importance on its tailings storage facility.

Barrick’s shares have surged 120.2% in the past year compared with the industry’s 90% rally.

For 2020, Barrick now anticipates attributable gold production in the range of 4.6-5 million ounces, down from previous expectation of 4.8-5.2 million ounces. All-in sustaining costs (AISC) are expected in the range of $920-$970 per ounce, unchanged from the prior view. Cost of sales is expected in the range of $980-$1,030 per ounce, unchanged from previous guidance.

The company continues to expect copper production in the range of 440-500 million pounds at AISC of $2.20-$2.50 per pound and at cost of sales of $2.10-$2.40 per pound.

Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks

Barrick currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Some other top-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Agnico Eagle Mines Limited AEM, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company SMG and Newmont Corporation NEM, all carrying a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.

Agnico Eagle has an expected earnings growth rate of 75.3% for 2020. The company’s shares have surged 59.2% in the past year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro has an expected earnings growth rate of 17.7% for fiscal 2020. Its shares have returned 69.5% in the past year.    

Newmont has an expected earnings growth rate of 82.6% for 2020. The company’s shares have surged 97.9% in the past year.

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