Barrick Gold Corporation GOLD has displayed its commitment to Zambia’s economic growth by contributing through royalties, taxes, salaries and procurement of goods and services through its Lumwana mine. The Lumwana Mine operations have contributed $887 million to the economy in 2024. Since 2019, GOLD has contributed more than $3.7 billion to the economy. 

The Lumwana mine has led the advancement of local content in Zambia. Out of the $906 million spent on goods and services in 2024, 72% went to Zambian suppliers and contractors. At present, 99% of Lumwana’s employees are Zambian nationals, making it a sustainable workforce. 

The company also has a Business Accelerator Programme in place for building capacity, targeting 150 SMEs to support the upcoming Superpit expansion. This expansion will lead to a doubling of Lumwana’s current copper production to a life-of-mine average of 240kt a year, with an additional 2,500 construction workers to be employed over the construction period through to 2028. Furthermore, 550 permanent roles will be created for which Lumwana is extending its Technical Education, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training Authority accredited training center to equip local workers with critical skills.

Integrating itself with Zambia’s ambitions, GOLD has plans of transforming the surrounding Kalumbila District into a mining-powered economic hub. It will include new employee housing in the Manyama town, an industrial supplier park and an airport, which is expected to be operational by the end of 2025. Barrick is also supporting Zambia’s development plans to increase copper output to 3Mt by 2031 through its Lumwana expansion and securing further exploration licenses in the Northern Province. 

GOLD stock has gained 2.8% in the past year compared with the 32.4% growth of the industry.

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GOLD’s Zacks Rank and Key Picks

GOLD currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the Basic Materials space are Ingevity Corporation NGVT, Carpenter Technology Corporation CRS and Methanex Corp. MEOH. While NGVT sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), CRS and MEOH carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ingevity’s current-year earnings is pegged at $2.75 per share. NGVT beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once, with the average earnings surprise being 95.4%. NGVT’s shares have gained 2.6% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Carpenter Technology’s current fiscal-year earnings is pegged at $6.77 per share. CRS beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 14.1%. CRS’ shares have soared 224.1% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Methanex’s current-year earnings is pegged at $3.49 per share. MEOH surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, with an average earnings surprise of 100.9%. The stock has gained 11.7% in the past year.

 

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