Barrick Mining shares rose after the miner said it is exploring an IPO of its North American gold assets, prompting debate about whether such a move could unlock value. The discussion comes as markets enter December, a month often shaped by central-bank signals, sector rotation and tax-loss selling.
BNN Bloomberg spoke with Lyle Stein, president of Forvest Global Wealth Management, who offered his view on Barrick’s strategy, the implications for its global portfolio, and how gold positions into a shifting market landscape.
Key Takeaways
- Barrick’s exploration of an IPO for its North American gold assets aims to capture enthusiasm for the Fourmile project and boost valuation.
- Activist-investor pressure is contributing to the company’s push for near-term value creation.
- Analysts question how a spinoff might affect the valuation of Barrick’s remaining global assets.
- Some investors prefer established gold producers for stable cash flows instead of participating in financial restructuring.
- Gold continues to draw attention as a strategic asset as investors reassess opportunities heading into 2025.
Read the full transcript below:
ANDREW: We saw a rise in Barrick Mining shares. The company is exploring an IPO of its highly valued North American gold assets. Meanwhile, of course, we are now into December, traditionally a good month for the markets. Let’s get more from Lyle Stein, president of Forvest Global Wealth Management. Lyle, thanks for giving us the time. Start off with Barrick. They sure are working hard to get the valuation up on that stock.
LYLE: Well, they are, and you know, they’re being pressured by an activist investor, and that always gets you a little bit more motivated to try to basically create near-term value. You know, we saw the spinout of Hemlo just last week, and now we’ve got this announcement. You know, it isn’t cast in stone, as they said. They’re going to look at it through February. It’s interesting. Basically, they want to capture the value in this Fourmile asset, which looks like a very interesting mine. But you know, it’s got to be production 2028, maybe 2029, so they’re basically trying to take advantage of, I think, the enthusiasm over the project.
ANDREW: Yeah, Fourmile, their big new lucrative potential mine in Nevada. And National Bank raises an interesting point, saying: what about the rub? What about the red-headed stepchildren here, the rump assets of Barrick? What kind of valuation will they get?
LYLE: That’s an interesting question, Andy. You know, financial engineering basically works off a premise that the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. But the reality is the market determines pretty well what the total value is all the time. So is the spinout of this, frankly, smarter than the market? And as you say, they might get a better valuation on the North American assets. But what about that stepsister all around the rest of the world? And you know, from our perspective as investors, they keep talking about — or the Barrick announcement talked about — getting their valuation up to the Agnico Eagle level. Well, that’s our biggest holding. We wouldn’t sell Agnico Eagle to participate in this financial operation.
ANDREW: And of course, it’s interesting as well that Newmont might be very interested, possibly, in taking over those North American assets.
LYLE: Well, yeah, maybe. Maybe they’ll do that, but then you’re basically saying the company as we know it isn’t going to be the same going forward. And again, my view here is that it’s long enough out in the future. I’ll just take the cash flows that I’m getting from my holdings in things like Agnico Eagle or Franco-Nevada and take those to the bank.
ANDREW: Thank you very much, Lyle. It’s great hearing from you. Have a great week.
LYLE: Okay, take care.
ANDREW: Lyle Stein, president of Forvest Global Wealth Management.
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This BNN Bloomberg summary and transcript of the Dec. 1, 2025 interview with Lyle Stein are published with the assistance of AI. Original research, interview questions and added context was created by BNN Bloomberg journalists. An editor also reviewed this material before it was published to ensure its accuracy and adherence with BNN Bloomberg editorial policies and standards.
