Barrick and Newmont reach truce to facilitate IPO plans for $42B North American spinoff

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.

Barrick’s leadership has framed the performance issues as fixable rather than structural, and has made clear it is committed to improving NGM’s performance metrics.

The IPO blueprint

Barrick first announced its spinoff plans in December 2025, outlining a vision for a new entity called “North American Barrick” that would house the company’s continental assets, including its controlling interest in NGM. The target was to sell between 10% and 15% of the new entity, or potentially pursue a full IPO, by the end of 2026.

The targeted valuation of around $42 billion would make the listing one of the largest mining IPOs in recent memory. Barrick would retain significant control of the new entity after listing.

Why the truce matters now

As of late April 2026, Barrick confirmed that discussions with Newmont were ongoing, focused on both performance improvements at NGM and clearing the path for the IPO timeline.

Newmont still holds minority consent rights, and those rights give it ongoing influence over how NGM’s assets are packaged, valued, and presented to public market investors. Some Barrick investors have also pushed back on the spinoff plan, questioning whether the timing is right given NGM’s operational challenges.

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