UPDATE 1-Barrick to push harder for productivity gains in 2016

(Recasts with internal plans to focus on efficiency)
By Susan Taylor
TORONTO, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Barrick Gold ABX.TO will
increase its focus on productivity and efficiency gains in 2016
to further improve its balance sheet, the world's biggest gold
producer said on Thursday.
Barrick, which has the highest debt of any gold miner,
began 2015 with a $13.1 billion in debt, which it had whittled
to $11.2 billion as of Wednesday.
The Toronto-based company plans to put about $1 billion from
the sale of its Zaldivar copper mine toward debt, with free cash
flow used to reach its $3 billion debt reduction target for
2015. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N12S3R7
And there are no plans to ease off, Barrick told analysts on
Thursday.
"We've actually got internal plans which are focusing more
intensely, as we go forward, on productivity and efficiency,"
said Chief Financial Officer Shaun Usmar on a conference call.
Each mine is now being scrutinized for ways to improve
operations by boosting revenue, for example, or cutting costs.
"That will be the next incarnation, because there is
opportunity. You've seen the sector, as a whole I think, see
deteriorating productivities for a fairly long period of time
and that's the next frontier we seek to address," Usmar said.
The company also said it has just begun a second round in
the sales process for six U.S. gold assets that it wants to
divest and expects to sign at least one agreement before
year-end.
"It's a very competitive, robust process," said senior
vice-president Kevin Thomson on the call. "Our expectation is to
sign one or more binding agreements before the end of the year."
Barrick has said it will sell six of its U.S. gold mines and
projects: Bald Mountain, Round Mountain, Spring Valley, Ruby
Hill, Hilltop and Golden Sunlight. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N10G3LR