Mark Bristow’s shocking exit shakes up Barrick leadership

[Redator]

Barrick Mining (TSX: ABX) (NYSE: B) shocked markets Monday with the abrupt resignation of president and CEO Mark Bristow, who departs after nearly seven years at the helm without explanation.

Bristow, who steered Barrick since its 2019 merger with Randgold, will be replaced on an interim basis by Mark Hill, a veteran executive overseeing the miner’s Latin American and Asia Pacific regions. Hill, with the company for two decades, takes charge immediately as the board launches a global search for a permanent successor with the help of an external firm.

Bristow’s tenure included the integration of Randgold, $6.7 billion in shareholder returns, a $4-billion cut in net debt, and a series of strong quarterly results. But his record was overshadowed by a long-dragged dispute with Mali over the Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex, once Barrick’s largest African mine.

Timeline: Inside Mali’s high-stakes gold dispute with Barrick

Thorn in Bristow’s side

The dispute traces back to Mali’s 2023 mining code, which increased government royalties and equity stakes in joint ventures. While competitors such as Allied Gold and B2Gold reached agreements with the ruling junta, Barrick resisted.

Tensions escalated last year when the government demanded a greater share of profits. Authorities responded by jailing four Barrick executives, issuing an arrest warrant for Bristow, blocking exports,  and seizing bullion.

Mark Hill. (Image: LinkedIn profile.)

Barrick responded by seeking international arbitration late last year, and in January 2025 shut down the mine entirely.

The standoff took a turn for the word in June, when Malian authorities placed Loulo-Gounkoto under state control. Barrick booked a $1-billion impairment charge in August, cutting the carrying value of its 80% stake in the mine, which once generated 15% of the company’s gold output.

The crisis deepened further when Hilaire Diarra, Barrick’s former Tongon mine manager and key negotiator with Malian authorities, switched sides. In late August, Diarra was appointed as a special adviser to Mali’s president Assimi Goïta.

Earlier this month, Malian prosecutors appealed a court order to release the jailed executives, prolonging legal uncertainty around the Canadian miner’s operations in the country.

More to come…