Barrick could meet 2016 debt cut target from cash flow: president

DENVER (Reuters) - Barrick Gold expects to be able to reach its target of reducing debt by $2 billion by year-end even without selling any assets, company President Kelvin Dushnisky said on Monday.

"We are confident we will get to our $2 billion mark with or without an asset sale ... presuming gold prices continue to cooperate," Dushnisky said in an interview on the sidelines of the Denver Gold Forum.

Gold prices are up 24 percent this year to $1,313 an ounce, boosting miners' cash flow.

Barrick, the world's biggest gold miner, has been selling non-core assets to help reduce its heavy debt and said in July it planned to sell its 50 percent stake in the Kalgoorlie mine in Australia.

That sales process is "just underway" and could be done by year end but might run into next year, Dushnisky said.

"We expect it will be a strong process. There is a lot of interest in the asset," he said.

At end-June, Barrick had reduced its debt by $968 million so far this year. It also plans to retire another $273 million of debt in the third quarter, a process that is on track, Dushnisky said. That means the Toronto-based miner needs to cut another $759 million by year-end to meet its $2 billion target.

(Reporting by Nicole Mordant in Denver; Editing by Chris Reese and Meredith Mazzilli)