世界頭號黃金生產商放緩擴張腳步大綱
The world's largest gold producer has signalled a new restraint on expansion, declaring that it would no longer pursue size for size's sake as it pruned growth targets and shelved projects.
全世界最大的黃金生產商暗示，其擴張步伐將再次減速，它宣稱，不會再單純地爲了追求規模而尋求擴張，同時該公司調整了增長目標，並擱置了部分項目。
The move by Barrick Gold came after the miner revealed an up to a $3bn blowout in the cost of a flagship project on the Chile-Argentina border.
在巴里克黃金(Barrick Gold)宣佈上述舉措之前，這家礦商透露，其位於智利和阿根廷邊界一處旗艦項目的成本暴漲近30億美元。
Jamie Sokalsky, who took over as chief executive from Aaron Regent in June, pledged that "returns will drive production, production will not drive returns" as he announced a review of the miner's assets.
該公司首席執行官傑米•索卡爾斯基(Jamie Sokalsky)宣佈，將對公司資產進行審查。他承諾，"將用收益促進生產，而不是用生產促進收益。"今年6月，索卡爾斯基從亞倫•瑞金特(Aaron Regent)手中接過了首席執行官一職。
Mr Regent was ousted by a board led by founder and chairman Peter Munk amid dissatisfaction with a 30 per cent fall in Barrick's share price during the past year.
由於不滿巴里克黃金的股價在過去一年中下跌了30%，由公司創始人兼董事長彼得•蒙克(Peter Munk)率領的董事會撤掉了瑞金特的職務。
But Barrick shares dropped 8 per cent yesterday after it said that the cost of its Pascua-Lama project in South America would be 50-60 per cent higher than expected at up to $8bn.
但該公司股價昨日下跌8%，因其表示，位於南美的Pascua-Lama項目的成本將比預期高出50%至60%，達到80億美元。"Investors want to see gold companies generate more cash and not just be on a production treadmill," Mr Sokalsky said as he reduced the miner's annual output target from 9m to 8m ounces by 2015. It also shelved the $6bn Cerro Casale project in Chile and the $6.7bn Donlin Gold project in Alaska.
索卡爾斯基指出，"投資者希望看到黃金企業創造出更多的現金，而不僅僅是一味的進行生產。"他下調了該公司的年產量目標，到2015年之前，其年產量將由900萬盎司降至800萬盎司。此外，巴里克黃金還擱置了60億美元的智利Cerro Casale項目以及67億美元的阿拉斯加Donlin Gold項目。
The new tone from Barrick reflects a change in thinking across the gold sector, according to Sean Boyd, chief executive of Agnico-Eagle, the Toronto-listed gold miner.
在Agnico-Eagle首席執行官肖恩•博伊德(Sean Boyd)看來，巴里克黃金的動態反映出整個黃金行業的想法已經出現了變化。Agnico-Eagle是一家在多倫多上市的黃金礦商。
"The era of gold mega-projects may be fading," Mr Boyd told the Financial Times.
博伊德向英國《金融時報》表示，"黃金行業追逐超大項目的時代或許正逐漸終結。"
Barrick's move comes after a miserable period for the gold sector, with miners dogged by production problems, cost increases and slumping stock valuations.
在巴里克黃金做出這一舉措之前，黃金行業經歷了一段痛苦的時期，生產難題、成本上升以及股票估值重挫，這些都令礦商們倍感困擾。
Barrick' s net earnings fell 35 per cent in the second quarter to $750m. Barrick's second-quarter revenues fell from $3.4bn the previous year to $3.3bn this time around.
巴里克黃金第二季度淨利下滑35%，至7.5億美元。第二季度收入從上年同期的34億美元降至33億美元。
