Investing.com -- Barrick Mining Corp. is considering pushing back the initial public offering of its North American gold business to 2027, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the matter.

The Toronto-based miner previously planned to complete the IPO by the end of this year, Chief Executive Officer Mark Hill said on the company's earnings call on August 10. Hill will lead the North American unit after the IPO, while Sebastiaan Bock will become CEO of the company's other operations.

Barrick is working with said to be Goldman Sachs Group Inc. on the deal. The company is in talks with additional banks to work on the potential IPO.

Preparations continue and details including the timing of the offering could still change, the report said.

Barrick shares briefly dropped nearly 2% after the report before recovering.

Some of Barrick's top investors have opposed Chairman John Thornton's strategy to separate the North American mines and list them, with one publicly calling for the former Goldman Sachs banker to retire from the role.

Barrick's US shares rose 22% in August as investors bought gold in reaction to US government efforts to manage the cost of its debt. The company's stock remains little changed this year, giving it a market value of $72 billion.

The company last month reached an agreement to give Newmont Corp. a stake in a Nevada gold project in exchange for its support for the planned IPO. The deal cleared a potential obstacle to the listing after the Denver-based miner threatened legal action earlier this year over alleged mismanagement of the companies' Nevada joint venture.

Thornton has discussed separating Barrick's North American business since at least 2024, the report added.