Avathon Selected to Power an AI-Native Mining Operating Model for Barrick's North American Business
Barrick plans to use artificial intelligence to reduce operational expenses and improve gold margins across its North American assets prior to its initial public offering.
Barrick Mining Corporation (ABX) has selected Avathon as a strategic technology partner to deploy its "Autonomy Platform" across its North American gold assets. The partnership aims to build an "AI-native mining operating model" by integrating Physical AI across the entire value chain, from exploration and mine planning to safety, production, and supply chain.
Key application areas include computer vision for safety monitoring, AI-driven ore flow and processing optimization to improve recovery and reduce variability, predictive maintenance for asset reliability, and machine learning for geological data conversion. The initiative emphasizes an "AI plus human intelligence" philosophy, ensuring operational judgment and accountability remain with Barrick professionals. No financial impact, capital expenditure figures, or implementation timelines were disclosed in the release.
Barrick Mining Corporation (ABX) announced a strategic technology partnership, a move distinct from a financial or operational results release. The market reacted with a 3.1% increase, lifting the stock from $59.95 to $61.81, reflecting a positive but measured response to the operational efficiency initiative. The news aligns with management's broader narrative of leveraging technology to improve margins and safety ahead of the North American IPO.
Barrick Mining Corporation (ABX) operates a global portfolio of assets across multiple continents. In North America, the company holds interests in the Nevada Gold Mines joint venture, which includes the Carlin, Cortez, and Turquoise Ridge operations, as well as the Pueblo Viejo mine in the Dominican Republic and the wholly-owned Fourmile gold project in Nevada.
In Africa and the Middle East, Barrick manages the Loulo-Gounkoto mine in Mali and the North Mara mine in Tanzania, while holding a 45% stake in the Kibali mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The company’s South America and Asia Pacific holdings include the Lumwana mine in Zambia, a 24.5% stake in Porgera in Papua New Guinea, a 50% stake in Zaldivar in Australia, and a 50% stake in Jabal Sayid in Saudi Arabia.
The company’s development and exploration pipeline features the Reko Diq project in Pakistan, which is currently under security review, alongside the Fourmile, Goldrush, and Ren projects in Nevada. Additionally, Barrick divested its Hemlo, Tongon, and Alturas assets in 2025 to streamline its portfolio and fund shareholder returns.