Barrick Gold Corp. said Tuesday that gold production has begun at a new mine in the Dominican Republic, with commercial production expected in the fourth quarter.
Barrick owns 60 percent of the mine northwest of Santo Domingo. The rest is owned by Goldcorp Inc. of Vancouver, British Columbia. Barrick’s share of 2012 production from the Pueblo Viejo mine is expected to be 100,000 to 125,000 ounces.
The Toronto company expects between 625,000 and 675,000 ounces in the first five years of operation and estimates the mine will produce more than 1 million ounces of gold when fully operational.
Shares of Barrick rose 2 cents to $34.24 and Goldcorp rose 4 cents to $37.04 in morning trading.
Gold futures contracts were trading for about $1,610 an ounce in New York on Tuesday.
