Barrick Gold is eyeing the sale of one of its “crown jewels”, a Chilean copper mine, as the world’s largest gold producer tries to meet an ambitious debt reduction target to help restore its lustre for investors, writes James Wilson.

Bankers and mining executives said the Chilean copper mine, called Zaldivar and one of Barrick’s key assets, would be of potential interest to a number of private equity vehicles, including Mick Davis’ X2 Resources. Mr Davis, one of the best-known mining executives, headed Xstrata before its 2012 sale to Glencore. X2 has raised $5.6bn and is hunting for mining deals.

A sale of Zaldivar by Barrick could be expected to realise more than $1.5bn for the Canadian group. It would be one of the most eye-catching mine sales since the sector’s sharp downturn, showing how companies that are under fire are having to respond to falling commodity prices and protect balance sheets by selling choice assets.