Barrick Gold
Q1 2023 Earnings Call
May 03, 2023, 11:00 a.m. ET
Contents:
- Prepared Remarks
- Questions and Answers
- Call Participants
Prepared Remarks:
Operator
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. This is the event operator. Welcome to Barrick's results presentation for the first quarter of 2023. Following today's presentation, a question-and-answer session will be conducted.
[Operator instructions] As a reminder, this event is being recorded and a replay will be available on Barrick's website later today, May 5, 2023. I would now like to turn you over to Mark Bristow, president and CEO of Barrick. Please go ahead, sir.
Mark Bristow -- President and Chief Executive Officer
Thank you very much and ladies and gentlemen a very good morning to those here in Toronto and of course a good day to those around the globe. As you know, we are going to be talking about our results for Q1 2023 today. And I thought I'd start off by just pointing to the fact that as the different global powers seek to extricate the world from the many challenges and indeed crises we currently have to contend with. We have a lot of talking, but don't see much action.
Instead of fantasizing about some post-industrial idyllic state, the world's political and business leaders should perhaps be considering a better future for all, not just for the wealthy countries. This requires of course investment in the development of sustainable enterprises, driven by cleaner energy and extending to the many parts of the world. In fact, most of it, which have been left behind by the West's economics advances. Mining has historically been the catalyst for economic growth in underdeveloped countries.
And I would argue that the case for investment in mining in those countries is stronger than ever, particularly as many are rich in the resources required to make the world a better place for all. At Barrick, we have always been committed to investing in the future. And in the process, we have created some remarkable value for our broad base of stakeholders. I'll share a few instances of those with you in the course of this presentation.
This is the usual cautionary statement, a copy of which can be found on our website, should you wish to study it more closely. As guided at the start of the year, Q1 was a softer production quarter, due mainly to the major planned maintenance exercises at Nevada Gold Mines and mine sequencing at Kibali. Free cash flow increase despite the lower production, while adjusted net earnings per share also increased to $0.14. Operational highlights included the near completion of the massive Pueblo Viejo expansion project, which I'll tell you more about later, a robust performance from Turquoise Ridge, and the delivery of first production stopes ahead of schedule from the new Gounkoto underground mine.