Barrick Mining and Newmont, the two heavyweights of the global gold industry, have moved toward resolving a dispute that threatened to derail one of the mining sector’s most anticipated IPOs. The disagreement centered on Nevada Gold Mines, the world’s largest gold-producing complex, and had become a significant obstacle to Barrick’s plan to spin off its North American assets into a publicly traded entity valued at roughly $42 billion.
The truce matters because Newmont holds consent rights under the joint venture agreement governing NGM. Without Newmont’s cooperation, Barrick’s IPO timeline was, to put it diplomatically, aspirational.
What went wrong in Nevada
Nevada Gold Mines was formed in March 2019 as a joint venture between the two companies, with Barrick taking the operator’s seat and a 61.5% controlling stake. Newmont retained the remaining 38.5%.
On February 3, 2026, Newmont issued a formal notice of default to Barrick, alleging mismanagement of the joint venture. The complaint pointed to declining output and rising costs over the previous six years.
