They made it sound like they did and have been obfuscating ever since with the help of MSM.

This, in my view, has been one of the most misunderstood issue in the gold mining industry. What they did in 2007 was mostly an accounting trick aimed at pushing the problem out as far into the future as possible. If I had a penny for every time I heard an analyst or pundit say something like: "Barrick has eliminated its hedge book..." or "Barrick is no longer hedged...", since 2007, I would be retired by now.

The real irony is that, even after this deal, Barrick will still NOT be totally hedge-free...