Monday 04 March 2019 2:01 pm | Updated: Monday 03 June 2019 1:23 am

Newmont hits back at Barrick management as it rejects hostile bid

Newmont chief executive Gary Goldberg has hit out at Barrick’s management for lacking global experience as his company rejected the miner’s hostile $18bn (£14bn) offer.

The offer came just months after Barrick completed its $6bn acquisition of Randgold Resources, installing the target’s chief executive Mark Bristow as head of the combined firm.

“Realising value through Barrick’s proposal for Newmont’s shareholders hinges entirely on a new management team that lacks global operating experience and is only two months into its own transformational integration,” Goldberg said.

The bid, which would have created far and away the largest gold miner in the world, was seen as a bold move by Barrick’s new chief executive Mark Bristow.

Bristow, who until earlier this year was the head of the much smaller Randgold, has built a reputation as a straight-talking boss.

Last week he referred to Goldberg as a “loser” in comments to Reuters.

His proposal came after a period of consolidation within the gold sector as small companies try to gain scale.

Newmont said today that the deal is “not in the best interests” of its shareholders, and committed to pushing ahead with its “superior” bid for Goldcorp.

“Unlike Barrick, Newmont Goldcorp will be centred in the world’s most favourable mining jurisdictions and gold districts,” Goldberg said.

Newmont did not name any “unfavourable and high-risk jurisdictions” where Barrick operates. However it has been locked in negotiations with the Tanzanian government over a tax dispute with its London-listed subsidiary Acacia Mining.

Last month, Barrick said it will push ahead with a deal which would see Acacia sharing its proceeds from Tanzania with the regime of President John Magufuli.