http://business.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090109....

http://business.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090109.wrcover10/BNStory/Business/home


extract from article below:


"THE HUNT FOR ASSETS If Mr. Regent is going to top up Barrick's diminishing gold assets, he's likely going to have to head to other politically and socially difficult regions. There just aren't enough big gold deposits left in developed countries to have an impact on Barrick's production profile.

“The thing with Barrick is that when they already produce eight million ounces of gold per year, which is nearly 10 per cent of global mine supply, it needs to be something big,” BMO's Mr. Haughton said.

As for what might be on Barrick's shopping list, industry sources have speculated that the company could look to Centerra Gold Inc.'s promising but politically challenging gold operations in Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia that have the potential to add more than half a million ounces of production per year. Another potential target is Australia's Lihir Gold Ltd., an Australian miner which has a major mine in Papua New Guinea, a country where Barrick already operates.

To be sure, as Barrick is forced to more challenging places to mine gold, Mr. Regent will have to call on his full arsenal of people skills. Already an accomplished negotiator, deal maker and financial whiz, he will have to add gold sector diplomat to his list of credentials.

Mr. Haughton says Mr. Regent won't only be representing Barrick, but because of the company's size, he'll be an ambassador for the entire industry.

“He would have to be cognizant of that burden … it's a very prominent position in the industry, one that Barrick has earned."