Nevada Gold MinesNarrow moat

Nevada Gold Mines is the single best thing Barrick owns. Formed in 2019 by pooling Barrick's and Newmont's neighbouring Nevada operations into one joint venture, it is the largest gold-producing complex in the world — a cluster of mines, mills, and roasters (Carlin, Cortez, Turquoise Ridge, Goldstrike) across a geology so rich it has its own name, the Carlin Trend. Barrick owns 61.5 percent and, crucially, operates it¹.

The appeal is not just size but stability. Nevada is a mining jurisdiction as safe as any on earth — no expropriation risk, predictable law, deep infrastructure and skilled labour — which is worth an enormous amount when so much of the rest of Barrick's portfolio sits in places where the rules can change overnight. A large, low-cost, long-life mine in a stable country is the platonic ideal of a gold asset, and Barrick has the biggest one there is.

The bull case rests on the Fourmile discovery, a very high-grade deposit adjacent to the existing operations that could extend Nevada's life and lift its grade for years to come. The bear case is simpler: even this crown jewel depletes, grades have drifted down over the decades as the easy ounces were mined first, and the joint-venture structure means Barrick shares the spoils and must keep Newmont aligned. It is a magnificent asset — and still a finite one.