Direxion Daily Gold Miners Be (DUST)

[DarkPool]

bye bye dust. miners beating the street.


UPDATE 1-Barrick profit beats expectations, miner lifts dividend

Wednesday February 15, 2017 17:47

(Adds consensus estimate, exploration spending plans, revenue, details on debt reduction)

TORONTO, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Barrick Gold Corp reported better-than-expected profits and ambitious plans to further pare its debt on Wednesday, saying its balance sheet is now healthy enough to boost dividends and spending on exploration.

The Toronto-based miner, which is hiking its dividend to 3 cents from 2 cents a share, said it will expand exploration beyond core districts and projects to so-called 'greenfield' areas.

Such uncharted territory presents a higher risk of failure, but bigger potential rewards for sizeable, new finds. About 80 percent of its $185-$225 million exploration budget is earmarked for the Americas, with much of the remainder for its African unit, Acacia.