Barrick says deal with Royal Gold does not affect partnership with DR govt.

Santo Domingo.– Barrick Pueblo Viejo on Friday reacted to the claim by theDominican government about negotiations between the mining company and RoyalGold, on the production of precious metals, an operation the Dominicangovernment said to ignore.

Pueblo Viejo Corp. CEO Manuel Rocha said that "the RoyalGold transaction involves the future sale of a fraction of gold and silver correspondingto the net equity of Barrick (60%) of the production at Cotui’s Pueblo Viejomine.

"This transaction will not affect the long-term agreement with the Dominican State,"Rocha pointed out.

According to miningglobal.com, the Toronto-based miner has taken major strides in its debt-reduction goal, cutting its quarterly dividend 60 percent, which should help save Barrick US$140 million a year, as well as signing a US$610 million streaming agreement with Royal Gold Inc. for the Pueblo Viejo mine in the Dominican Republic.

The website reported that the deal with Royal Gold will bring Barrick to 90 percent of its target for reducing its debt load by roughly US$3 billion by the end of 2015.