04:50 PM EDT, 08/13/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Barrick Gold Corp. ( GOLD ) chief executive officer Mark Bristow is raising the possibility that he may retire in 2026,The Globe and Mail is reporting Tuesday.

Bristow took over as CEO in 2019 after Toronto-based Barrick acquired Randgold Resources Ltd., the Africa-focused mining company he founded and ran for about two decades.

In an interview at Barrick's headquarters in Toronto earlier this week, Bristow outlined three key projects that are set to be rolled out in 2028: a major expansion of its Lumwana copper mine in Zambia, the ramp-up of Goldrush in Nevada and the commissioning of the first phase of Reko Diq.

While he stressed that investors want comfort that Reko Diq, situated in high-risk Pakistan, is on track, there's no guarantee he'll still be in the job in 2028.

"I think that's on the outside end of my [tenure], because there is also a natural transition that happens in companies," the 65-year-old Mr. Bristow said.

When pressed for more details about his exit, he suggested that he'll stay in the job through 2025 but was non-committal about 2026. When asked if he could see himself stepping down at that time, he replied, "Maybe, I don't know. I feel that these things come naturally. The last thing you want to do is stay on when you're not needed."

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally, and/or from other media sources. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)