TORONTO – Barrick Gold Corp. closed down Thursday as the company swung to a net loss in the last quarter and upped its expected costs going forward.

The miner, which reports in US dollars, said its net loss was $314 million or 27 cents per share, compared with earnings of $425 million or 36 cents per share last year.

The loss was largely due to a $916 million impairment charge on its long-lived assets, stemming both from a major tax and export dispute between its 64-per-cent owned Acacia Mining and the Tanzanian government, and the partial writedown of its Pascua Lama project after the Chilean government ordered it to close all surface facilities.

Barrick said its all-in cash cost per ounce is expected to be between $750 to $875 per ounce for 2018 and $750 to $875 per ounce between 2019 and 2022.

The 2018 guidance is an increase from the $710 to $770 per ounce the company expected a year ago, and well off the $700 per ounce target it had set for itself in 2016.

The company said the higher cost guidance for the year ahead is mostly related to lower anticipated gold production from its Nevada operations, Pueblo Viejo and Veladero mines, increased processing of higher-cost inventory, and higher costs at Acacia, its Tanzanian operation.

“We made significant strides towards driving costs out of our business. However, not sufficient to offset the change in production profile,” said chief operating officer Richard Williams on a conference call.

The long-term costs are also going up as the company invests in mine modernization, including with mine site exploration to add reserve ounces.

“We are making deliberate decisions to invest in our assets. … This has meant we’ve had to adjust our expectations around costs in the near term.”

The company said adjusted net earnings came in at $253 million, or 22 cents per share, higher than average analyst expectations of $221.8 million or 21 cents per share.

Barrick’s share price closed down about three per cent at $16.62 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

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