世界头号黄金生产商放缓扩张脚步

The world's largest gold producer has signalled a new restraint on expansion, declaring that it would no longer pursue size for size's sake as it pruned growth targets and shelved projects.

全世界最大的黄金生产商暗示，其扩张步伐将再次减速，它宣称，不会再单纯地为了追求规模而寻求扩张，同时该公司调整了增长目标，并搁置了部分项目。

The move by Barrick Gold came after the miner revealed an up to a $3bn blowout in the cost of a flagship project on the Chile-Argentina border.

在巴里克黄金(Barrick Gold)宣布上述举措之前，这家矿商透露，其位于智利和阿根廷边界一处旗舰项目的成本暴涨近30亿美元。

Jamie Sokalsky, who took over as chief executive from Aaron Regent in June, pledged that "returns will drive production, production will not drive returns" as he announced a review of the miner's assets.

该公司首席执行官杰米•索卡尔斯基(Jamie Sokalsky)宣布，将对公司资产进行审查。他承诺，"将用收益促进生产，而不是用生产促进收益。"今年6月，索卡尔斯基从亚伦•瑞金特(Aaron Regent)手中接过了首席执行官一职。

Mr Regent was ousted by a board led by founder and chairman Peter Munk amid dissatisfaction with a 30 per cent fall in Barrick's share price during the past year.

由于不满巴里克黄金的股价在过去一年中下跌了30%，由公司创始人兼董事长彼得•蒙克(Peter Munk)率领的董事会撤掉了瑞金特的职务。

But Barrick shares dropped 8 per cent yesterday after it said that the cost of its Pascua-Lama project in South America would be 50-60 per cent higher than expected at up to $8bn.

但该公司股价昨日下跌8%，因其表示，位于南美的Pascua-Lama项目的成本将比预期高出50%至60%，达到80亿美元。

"Investors want to see gold companies generate more cash and not just be on a production treadmill," Mr Sokalsky said as he reduced the miner's annual output target from 9m to 8m ounces by 2017. It also shelved the $6bn Cerro Casale project in Chile and the $6.7bn Donlin Gold project in Alaska.

索卡尔斯基指出，"投资者希望看到黄金企业创造出更多的现金，而不仅仅是一味的进行生产。"他下调了该公司的年产量目标，到2017年之前，其年产量将由900万盎司降至800万盎司。此外，巴里克黄金还搁置了60亿美元的智利Cerro Casale项目以及67亿美元的阿拉斯加Donlin Gold项目。

The new tone from Barrick reflects a change in thinking across the gold sector, according to Sean Boyd, chief executive of Agnico-Eagle, the Toronto-listed gold miner.

在Agnico-Eagle首席执行官肖恩•博伊德(Sean Boyd)看来，巴里克黄金的动态反映出整个黄金行业的想法已经出现了变化。Agnico-Eagle是一家在多伦多上市的黄金矿商。

"The era of gold mega-projects may be fading," Mr Boyd told the Financial Times.

博伊德向英国《金融时报》表示，"黄金行业追逐超大项目的时代或许正逐渐终结。"

Barrick's move comes after a miserable period for the gold sector, with miners dogged by production problems, cost increases and slumping stock valuations.

在巴里克黄金做出这一举措之前，黄金行业经历了一段痛苦的时期，生产难题、成本上升以及股票估值重挫，这些都令矿商们倍感困扰。

Barrick' s net earnings fell 35 per cent in the second quarter to $750m. Barrick's second-quarter revenues fell from $3.4bn the previous year to $3.3bn this time around.

巴里克黄金第二季度净利下滑35%，至7.5亿美元。第二季度收入从上年同期的34亿美元降至33亿美元。