(Adds context, gold price in paragraphs 2-4, quotes and context

in paragraph 6-9)

By Divya Rajagopal

TORONTO, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Barrick Mining ( B ) CEO

Mark Bristow said on Monday that the gold industry is awaiting

clarity from the White House regarding potential U.S. tariffs on

gold bars, but added that, regardless of the outcome, the impact

on miners would be minimal.

According to a ruling published on the U.S. Customs and

Border Protection service's website on Friday, Washington may

place the most widely traded gold bullion bars in the U.S. under

country-specific import tariffs.

A White House official later

told Reuters

it would issue an executive order "clarifying

misinformation".

The ruling has disrupted global bullion flows and

injected fresh volatility into gold markets. Gold

prices fell

2.4% on Monday.

"Let's see how things are clarified, because right now

it is speculation," Bristow told Reuters in an interview.

He said gold miners are "price takers", meaning they

could actually benefit from higher prices if that was the end

result of the U.S. tariff turmoil.

Barrick beat analysts' expectations for second-quarter

profit on Monday, as a surge in gold prices helped offset a drop

in production, including from Mali, where it is involved in a

prolonged dispute with the country's military government.

Barrick was forced to suspend operations in mid-January

after Mali blocked its exports and detained some of its

executives.

Reuters reported last month that a Malian military

helicopter airlifted gold from its Loulo-Gounkoto complex just

days after sources said a court-appointed administrator for the

site planned to sell its bullion to finance operations.

Bristow told Reuters the company has not considered selling

Loulo-Gounkoto to a third party at this stage, even as Barrick

recorded a $1.03 billion charge due to its loss of control of

the mine.