This deal will make Newmont the world’s top gold miner

While its financials came in slightly below expectations the Toronto-based company stuck to its annual output forecast of between 5 million and 5.5 million ounces.

Barrick has been shedding assets at a clip in an effort to tackle its heavy debt load and to achieve its 2016 target will have to find another $1 billion before the end of the year.

Earlier this week there were reports the miner is close to selling its 64% stake in Tanzania’s Acacia Mining (LON:ACA) for as much as $1.9 billion. And buried in Barrick’s Q2 release was an announcement that it’s looking for a buyer for half of Australia’s Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines.

Newmont Mining owns the other half and Barrick handed over operational control of the the iconic mine called the Super Pit to Denver-based Newmont a year ago. The mine some 600km east of Perth has produced 50 million ounces over 30 years and fully developed the cut will be 3.6 kilometers long, 1.6 kilometers wide and up to 650 meters deep.

Newmont would be the natural buyer and has expressed interest in the mine in the past which could fetch as much as $1 billion. The company sports one of the stronger balance sheets in the sector having embarked on a debt reduction program earlier than its rivals and recently selling its Indonesian Batu Hijau copper-gold operation for $1.3 billion.

Unlike many of its rivals Newmont has been building its portfolio and last year acquired the Cripple Creek & Victor gold mine in Colorado. Newmont also has five key projects that are in execution stage including the Turf Vent project in Nevada and Merian mine in South America expected to start production late in 2016.

Newmont said in its results its Northwest Exodus project in Nevada is approved and will start production this quarter. In addition unapproved projects “represent upside of between 200,000 and 300,000 ounces of gold production beginning in 2018.”

While far from certainties should Barrick’s deals go ahead, Newmont picks up Kalgoorlie, the companies’ production guidance pans out and all things being equal (which they never are in gold mining) next year Denver and not Toronto will be the home of the world’s number one gold mining company.