Newmont Mining Corp.’s (NEM.N) board of directors has rejected Barrick Gold Corp.’s (ABX.TO) US$17.8-billion unsolicited takeover bid, saying its deal with Goldcorp Inc. (G.TO) represents superior value.

“Our thorough review of Barrick’s unsolicited proposal and its associated risks has reaffirmed our conclusion that the combination of Newmont and Goldcorp represents the best opportunity to create value for Newmont’s shareholders and deliver industry-leading returns for decades to come,” said Gary Goldberg, Newmont’s CEO, in a release.

“Unlike Barrick, Newmont Goldcorp will be centered in the world’s most favourable mining jurisdictions and gold districts. The combination with Goldcorp is significantly more accretive to Newmont’s shareholders on all relevant metrics compared to Barrick’s proposal, even when factoring in Barrick’s own synergy estimates.”

In a conference call Monday, Goldberg said Barrick's proposal is designed to transfer value from Newmont’s shareholders to Barrick.

"Barrick is approaching a clear production decline and needs Newmont’s mines and processing facilities," he said. "Barrick also has a poor M&A track record. We do not believe their operating model is capable of successfully realizing the value of global M&A.”

Newmont announced plans to buy Goldcorp in a US$10-billion acquisition in January, a deal that would create the world’s largest gold miner.

In its rejection of Barrick’s takeover bid Monday, Newmont proposed a joint venture with the miner in Nevada, where both companies hold assets.  Barrick would hold a 55 per cent economic interest, while Newmont Goldcorp would hold 45 per cent interest, if the proposal were accepted.

Newmont said the joint venture would enable the companies’ shareholders to realize synergies while avoiding the risks and complexities associated with Barrick's unsolicited proposal, which came with no premium.

Barrick CEO Mark Bristow expressed his frustration with Newmont’s rejection of his company’s latest offer.

“Newmont’s latest proposal is essentially based on the stale and convoluted process that foundered previously,” Bristow said in a statement on Monday.

“As usual, it comes with unrealistic preconditions including swapping the chairmanship and the leadership of the [joint venture]. Experience has shown us that JVs only work well when the majority owner is also the operator.”

Newmont added that achieving those opportunities doesn’t require its company to be acquired by Barrick.

Barrick formally proposed a combination with Newmont early last week, saying that uniting with Newmont is a "logical and long overdue imperative for shareholders.” Under the terms of the proposal, Barrick offered 2.5694 shares for each Newmont share.