Sept 29 (Reuters) - Barrick Mining ( B ) on Monday

appointed veteran executive Mark Hill as interim president and

CEO following the sudden departure of Mark Bristow, who led the

Canadian miner for nearly seven years after its merger with

Randgold Resources.

Bristow, who became CEO in 2019 when Barrick acquired

Randgold, oversaw the integration of the two companies and

steered the miner through a period of significant portfolio

reshaping and debt reduction.

Hill, who will also serve as group chief operating

officer, takes charge immediately as the board begins a global

search for a permanent chief executive with the help of an

external firm.

(Reporting by Vallari Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by

Krishna Chandra Eluri and Mrigank Dhaniwala)