China's Shandong Gold Mining Co Ltd is in advanced talks to buy a 50 percent stake in Barrick Gold Corp's Veladero gold mine in Argentina, people familiar with the process told Reuters even as the Canadian miner grappled with a pipe rupture at the site.

As part of a purchase plan being discussed, Shandong would also acquire 50 percent of Barrick's nearby undeveloped Pascua-Lama gold and silver project, one of the people said.