(Reuters) -Canadian miner Barrick Gold Corp said on Wednesday its fourth-quarter production rose 10% sequentially, helped by strong performance at its Carlin and Cortez mines in Nevada.
Toronto-listed shares of Barrick rose 3% to C$23.90.
The Carlin and Cortez mines are part of Nevada Gold Mines, a joint venture between Barrick and Newmont Corp. Barrick, which has a 61.5% stake in the joint venture, operates the Nevada mines.
The company reported total preliminary gold output of 1.20 million ounces in the quarter ended Dec. 31, up from 1.09 million ounces a quarter ago.
Gold prices had gained 4% during the quarter as concerns over inflation and the Omicron coronavirus variant supported the yellow metal’s safe-haven appeal.
Barrick said the average market price for gold in the quarter was $1,795 per ounce, up from $1,790 per ounce in the prior quarter.
The Toronto-based miner said copper production during the quarter was 126 million pounds, a 26% increase from the previous quarter, due to increased throughput levels at its Lumwana copper mine in Zambia in southern Africa.
However, Barrick said it sold lesser copper than it produced, owing to the timing of shipments at Lumwana.
Barrick, which is scheduled to release its fourth-quarter results on Feb. 16, said it expects its all-in sustaining costs (AISC) for gold, a key industry metric, to be down between 4% and 6% from the third quarter.
Copper’s AISC is expected to rise in the range of 11% to 13% from the previous quarter, driven by higher expenses at the Lumwana mine.
Barrick said its preliminary full-year gold and copper production was 4.44 million ounces and 415 million pounds, respectively.
($1 = 1.2491 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Ruhi Soni in Bengaluru; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel)
