The CEO of Barrick must be watching CNBC these days because he thinks this market is a "Buying Opportunity"... well so do I... go Barrick :)

31/10/2008 8:58:00 AM - In the News

The Financial Post reports in a Bloomberg dispatch Friday that Barrick Gold says it is interested in acquisitions because of "amazing" declines in miners' share prices and the expectation bullion will soar. Bloomberg's Stewart Bailey writes the company has about $3.2-billion available, comprising $1.7-billion in cash and an unused credit line of $1.5-billion, chief financial officer Jamie Sokalsky said Thursday (all figures U.S.). "We continue to look at just about everything in the marketplace," Mr. Sokalsky told analysts. "There may be some opportunities out there that appeal to us." Barrick is considering acquisitions after the credit crisis depressed mining stock valuations. The company's own stock has declined one-third this year, and Barrick was forced to write down the value of its investment in Highland Gold Mining Ltd. in the third quarter after that company's shares plunged. "Everybody's licking their chops," Tom Winmill at Midas Management in New York told Bloomberg. "If I were Barrick and intended to be in business for the next 50 years, I'd look at this as an opportunity to acquire." Barrick recently paid $1.7-billion for the half of the Cortez deposit in Nevada it did not already own.