Barrick's Q3 all-in sustaining cost rises 24% to $1,911 an ounce
The cost was $1,538 a year earlier. Barrick produced 816,000 ounces in the third quarter and realised $4,243 an ounce; attributable output was 2% lower on the year.
By Carat Capital
What changed
Costs rose 24%. Barrick's all-in sustaining cost rose to $1,911 an ounce in the third quarter, from $1,538 a year earlier. Its realised gold price rose 23%.
What it means
- If you track mine supply: Barrick kept 2026 output guidance of 2.90 million to 3.25 million ounces.
- If you hold the shares: it bought back $761 million of shares in the quarter.
- What this is not: a margin squeeze. On the year the realised price gained $786 an ounce and the cost $373.
Key figures
| All-in sustaining cost, Q3$1,538 a year earlier | $1,911/oz |
|---|---|
| Realised gold price$3,457 a year earlier | $4,243/oz |
| Gold production, Q3829,000 a year earlier | 816,000 oz |
| 2026 guidance, million ozreiterated | 2.90 to 3.25 |
Source: Barrick Mining Corporation, Q3 2026 results, 9 November 2026 (SEC Exhibit 99.1) · attributable basis · AISC is the company's non-GAAP measure
Costs rose with royalties and diesel.
Cost up 24%. All-in sustaining cost rose to $1,911 an ounce, Barrick says, on lower grades, higher royalties, diesel and more sustaining capital.
Inside guidance. The figure sits inside 2026 guidance of $1,760 to $1,950, set on a $4,500 gold price assumption.
| Measure | Q3 2026 | Q2 2026 | Q3 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Production, koz | 816 | 796 | 829 |
| Sold, koz | 810 | 801 | 837 |
| Realised price | 4,243 | 4,417 | 3,457 |
| Market price | 4,262 | 4,506 | 3,457 |
| Cost of sales | 1,950 | 1,993 | 1,562 |
| All-in sustaining cost | 1,911 | 1,866 | 1,538 |
Source. Barrick's Q3 2026 results, operating results table.
All-in sustaining cost is Barrick's non-GAAP measure.
Attributable output fell 2%.
Mostly weather and access. Attributable production of 816,000 ounces was 2% below a year earlier. Barrick puts it largely down to weather at Veladero and delayed access to high-grade ore at North Mara.
Up 6% without divestments. Excluding divested assets, Barrick says output rose 6% on the year. Against the second quarter it rose 3%.
The price fell from Q2.
Down 4% on Q2. The realised price was 4% below the second quarter's $4,417. The market price fell 5% over the same quarter, Barrick's table shows.
Dividend and buybacks. Barrick declared a quarterly dividend of $0.175, payable on 15 December, and bought back shares under its $3.0 billion programme.
What to watch
- Fourth quarter 2026North Mara's high-grade ore, which Barrick expects to reach. The test: whether full-year output lands inside 2.90 million to 3.25 million ounces.
- 15 December 2026The Q3 dividend is paid to holders of record on 30 November.
The story so far
Go deeper
What would change this call
If the fourth quarter's cost comes in above the $1,950 top of guidance, the third quarter reads as a step on a rising path rather than a quarter inside the range.
How all-in sustaining cost is built
AISC adds sustaining capital, general and administrative costs and other sustaining items to the cost of producing an ounce. It is not a GAAP measure; Barrick reports it on its attributable share of each mine, divided by ounces sold.
Method
Exhibit 99.1 to Barrick's Form 6-K, https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/756894/000119312526453391/d141003dex991.htm, read 10 November 2026 with an identifying user agent, 200, 660,013 bytes; dateline 'TORONTO, November 9, 2026'. Operating results table, as printed: production 816 / 796 / 829, '(2)%' against Q3 2025; realised price 4,243 / 4,417 / 3,457, '(4)%' and '23 %'; market price 4,262 / 4,506 / 3,457, '(5)%'; AISC 1,911 / 1,866 / 1,538. Text: 'AISC 4 increased to $1,911 per ounce from $1,538'; 'Barrick's total attributable gold production was 2% lower than the prior-year period, largely due to the impacts of extreme weather at Veladero, and delayed access to high-grade material at North Mara'; 'up 3% from Q2 2026, and 6% year-over-year (excluding divested assets)'; 'Full-year production guidance reiterated: 2.90–3.25 million ounces'; 'AISC 4 of $1,760–$1,950 per ounce, based on a gold price assumption of $4,500 per ounce'; 'repurchased $761 million of shares'; 'dividend will be paid on December 15, 2026, to shareholders of record at the close of business on November 30, 2026'. Nine months' production 2,331 koz from the same table. Arithmetic, Carat Capital's: 1,911 / 1,538 = 1.2425 -> 24%; 4,243 - 3,457 = 786; 1,911 - 1,538 = 373.