Barrick Gold Corp ( GOLD ) shares are trading higher by 1.2% to $15.95 during Friday’s session. Shares of stocks in the broader metals and mining sector are trading higher in possible sympathy with Rio Tinto and Glencore who announced discussions regarding a potential merger.

What To Know: As a leading gold mining company, Barrick Gold specializes in the production of gold and copper, with a focus on maintaining low-cost operations and significant reserves in politically stable regions.

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If a Rio Tinto-Glencore merger materializes, it would create a mining juggernaut with massive operational reach across multiple commodities. This could trigger heightened competition for mining assets and push other companies, including Barrick Gold, to secure their positions in the industry.

Investors may anticipate that Barrick, with its disciplined financial approach and robust resource base, could emerge as an attractive partner for strategic alliances or acquisitions to counterbalance this consolidation.

Additionally, such a merger could create volatility in commodity markets, indirectly benefiting gold as a hedge asset.

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How To Buy GOLD Stock

By now you're likely curious about how to participate in the market for Barrick Gold – be it to purchase shares, or even attempt to bet against the company.

Buying shares is typically done through a brokerage account. You can find a list of possible trading platforms here. Many will allow you to buy ‘fractional shares,' which allows you to own portions of stock without buying an entire share. For example, some stock, like Berkshire Hathaway, can cost thousands of dollars to own just one share. However, if you only want to invest a fraction of that, brokerages will allow you to do so.

In the case of Barrick Gold, which is trading at $15.96 as of publishing time, $100 would buy you 6.27 shares of stock.

If you're looking to bet against a company, the process is more complex. You'll need access to an options trading platform, or a broker who will allow you to ‘go short' a share of stock by lending you the shares to sell. The process of shorting a stock can be found at this resource. Otherwise, if your broker allows you to trade options, you can either buy a put option, or sell a call option at a strike price above where shares are currently trading – either way it allows you to profit off of the share price decline.

According to data from Benzinga Pro, GOLD has a 52-week high of $21.35 and a 52-week low of $13.76.