The Toronto-based Barrick, which has 27 operating mines, told analysts earlier this year that it would produce 7.6 million to 8.1 million ounces of gold and 380 million to 400 million pounds of copper during 2008. It reiterated the high end of that production target for gold – 8.1 million ounces – at a Singapore mining conference earlier this week.

Barrick produced 8.06 million ounces of gold in 2007.

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"We have full confidence of meeting our guidance for 2008," Barrick Executive Vice President Alexander J. Davidson told Reuters during an interview at the mining conference. "We are very bullish on gold and we expect it to certainly stay above the $900 level."

Early last month, Barrick sent a bullish signal to the markets when the company announced that it wouldn’t be hedging its gold production – despite the big run-up in prices that had already pushed gold prices up over the $1,000-an-ounce mark. The reason: Company executives believed there still was a lot of room for gold prices to run.

"The fundamentals are in place for a good sustained rally in gold prices," Chief Executive Officer Gregory C. Wilkins said during an early March interview on CNBC-TV.

And the company’s actions certainly appear to support that bullish belief.

During the Reuters interview earlier this week, Davidson, the executive vice president, said Barrick wants to fuel growth by making investment and acquisition deals in Asia.

"One of the reasons I’m here in Asia is to look at some of the projects that will be highlighted at this conference," said Davidson, whose duties include corporate development.

On March 27, Barrick signed a letter of intent to acquire 4.7% of Australian gold miner Allied Gold Ltd. for about $14 million, and to spend as much as $18.7 million for a 70% stake in two of Allied’s undeveloped gold-mining properties in Papua New Guinea.

Back in February, Barrick said it would pay $1.7 billion to buy out the 40% stake that Rio Tinto PLC (RTP) holds in the Cortez joint venture shared between the two companies share in Nevada. The deal will give Barrick full ownership of a gold mining project that has the potential to produce 1 million ounces a year.

[Editor's Note: For additional insights on Barrick and five other gold-related investments, check out a related Money Morning story that includes a prediction that gold prices will reach $1,500 an ounce by year end].

News and Related Story Links:

• Reuters:
  Canada’s Barrick Gold confident of 2008 output target.

• Money Morning News Analysis:
  Barrick’s Bullish View of Gold Signals Higher Prices Ahead.

• Money Morning Special Investment Report:
  The Five Ways to Profit From the Pending Gold Bubble (Part I).

• Money Morning Special Investment Report:
  The Five Top Plays to Profit from the Gold Boom (Part II).

• Money Morning Special Investment Report:
  The Baywatch Effect: Can China’s Growth Help Gold Prices Triple?