Legacy Assets as a Competitive Advantage: New Paths for Barrick and Rio Tinto – North Arrow Minerals Unlocks a Desert Treasure

Barrick Mining Plans Spin-Off

Barrick Mining is considered a highly profitable gold giant. Buoyed by the persistently strong gold price, the company reported a net profit of USD 5.0 billion and a record operating cash flow of USD 7.7 billion in fiscal year 2025. In the first quarter of 2026, the company significantly exceeded its own forecast with gold production of 719,000 ounces, while production costs per ounce actually fell by 4% to USD 1,708. To close the significant valuation gap compared to competitors, the company is currently trading at a forward P/E ratio of just 9.8; management plans to take a new subsidiary, North American Barrick, public on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges by the end of 2026. North American Barrick is intended to consolidate the company's flagship North American assets—such as Nevada Gold Mines, Pueblo Viejo, and the Fourmile exploration project, which is 100% owned by the group—so that these assets can be valued by the market independently of Barrick's international operations.

However, joint venture partner Newmont, which also holds shares in Nevada Gold Mines, appears far from satisfied with the plans and has levelled allegations of mismanagement against Barrick. Newmont accuses its partner of unlawfully diverting personnel, equipment, and financial resources from the joint venture to advance its own Fourmile project. Newmont also emphasizes that the planned IPO of Barrick's North American operations violates contractually agreed-upon preemptive rights and transfer restrictions. This headwind suggests that the IPO may not yet be a sure thing. Barrick, however, is under pressure to separate its North American assets from projects in Africa or Pakistan. There have been repeated problems there recently—whether with governments or terrorist attacks by separatist militias. Even the planned 2028 start of production at the giant Reko Dig gold mine in Pakistan could be in jeopardy after Barrick slowed the pace of development.

Rio Tinto: End of Diamond Mining and Corporate Restructuring

Rio Tinto's new CEO, Simon Trott, is also committed to change. At the end of March, the Diavik diamond mine in the Northwest Territories ceased operations because its economic reserves had been completely depleted. The closure of Diavik marks the company's complete exit from active diamond production, following the closure of the Argyle mine in Australia in 2020 and the sale of the Murowa mine in Zimbabwe in 2015. The company expects to incur expenses for closure and reclamation activities at former sites in 2026. To reduce costs in the mature iron ore business in the Pilbara region, Rio Tinto signed two non-binding letters of intent with BHP in 2026 to jointly extract up to 200 million metric tonnes of iron ore from the adjacent Yandicoogina and Yandi deposits. At the same time, Rio Tinto is aiming to become a global leader in lithium. At the Rincon project in Argentina, which Rio Tinto acquired in 2022 for USD 825 million, a pilot plant with an annual capacity of 3,000 metric tonnes of battery-grade lithium carbonate is now in operation. In Chile, the company plans to further expand its stake in the Salares Altoandinos lithium project.

North Arrow Minerals Bets on the Kraaipan Gold Project

While large corporations must invest on a massive scale to develop new business areas and resolve legacy issues, the situation is different for smaller companies. North Arrow Minerals has already successfully demonstrated its agility in the past. After selling or transferring its historical diamond and lithium operations in Canada to partnerships, the company's operational focus is now almost entirely on gold exploration. The company's target is the promising Kraaipan greenstone belt in Botswana.

A look at North Arrow Minerals' management team shows that this strategic realignment is well-founded and anything but a passing whim. Chairman Ken Armstrong brings over 27 years of exploration experience in North America to the table and worked as a geologist for Rio Tinto early in his career. CEO Eira Thomas, who played a key role in the discovery of the Diavik diamond deposit and later led Kaminak Gold Corporation until its acquisition by Goldcorp for CAD 520 million in 2016, also brings extensive industry experience to the table. With this team, North Arrow aims to advance its Kraaipan Gold project.

North Arrow Highlights Potential: New Drilling Program Underway

Through an earn-in agreement with Rockman Resources, North Arrow can secure an interest of up to 80% in the 724 km² property, which covers the entire 60 km-long northern extension of the Kraaipan greenstone belt. However, since the Kalahari Desert covers more than 80% of the belt in Botswana, the area has remained inaccessible to traditional exploration methods until now. The company is therefore now relying on state-of-the-art methods such as drone-based high-resolution magnetic sensors and highly mobile reverse-circulation drilling systems to unlock further potential.

An exploration campaign in 2025 comprising 175 drill holes totaling 4,974 m identified 6 gold-anomalous zones and led to the discovery of Target A. Targeted surface composite samples from exposed quartz veins at Target A yielded outstanding results of 68.5 g/t, 7.99 g/t, and 5.12 g/t Au in late 2025 and February 2026. In March 2026, a drilling program consisting of 20 angled holes confirmed gold mineralization along a 700 m strike length at Target A, including 1.99 g/t Au over 7 m and 1.23 g/t Au over 9 m. North Arrow only began new drilling activities in June and plans to drill 40 to 60 vertical holes.

Legacy Projects as a Trump Card: Good Outlook for North Arrow Minerals

To finance its activities to date at the Kraaipan Gold Project, North Arrow sold its lithium projects and also divested a diamond project located near the former Diavik Mine. In doing so, the company secured a future revenue share. North Arrow still has other advanced diamond projects in its portfolio, such as the Naujaat project in Nunavut. This should allow the company to remain flexible in terms of financing and continue its search for gold in Botswana. Given its innovative exploration methods and the project's relatively early stage, North Arrow Minerals is an exciting stock for opportunity-oriented investors.