African Barrick Gold Misses Production Targets

African Barrick Gold has been unable to meet its 2010 output target but its new Buzwagi mine has overcome production difficulties in mid November last year. Its fourth quarter earnings however were mixed as the company managed to produce 79,730 ounces of gold in the final quarter.

This was an improvement of 9% on the third quarter production. However the figures proved a 16% drop in the production of gold as compared to the same time frame the year before last. The annual output for the company was 700,934 ounces of gold which was lower than the production target of 716,000 ounces set in October.

The company is among the first of the London listed gold miners to announce production figures for last year. They are a unit of the Barrick Gold Corporation. The earnings and cash flow of the company are expected to rise by 6% due to the 27% jump in gold prices in 2010.

The company will also announce its guidance for gold production in 2011 and the figure is likely to be higher than the target last year as this will take into consideration the production from its new mine Buzwagi. The guidance will be released in February.