Barrick Gold
Encyclopedia
Barrick Gold Corporation is the largest pure gold mining
Gold mining
Gold mining is the removal of gold from the ground. There are several techniques and processes by which gold may be extracted from the earth.-History:...

 company in the world, with its headquarters in Toronto, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, Canada; and four regional business units (RBU's) located in Australia, Africa, North America and South America. Barrick is currently undertaking mining and exploration projects in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...

, the United States, Canada, Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...

, Australia, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

, Russia, South Africa, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 and Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

. For 2008, it produced 7.7 million ounces of gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

 at a cash cost of US $443/ounce. As of December 31, 2008 its proven and probable gold mineral reserves stand at 138.5 million ounces.

On January 20, 2006, Barrick acquired a majority share of Placer Dome
Placer Dome
Placer Dome Inc. was a large mining company specializing in gold and other precious metals, with corporate headquarters in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada....

. The production of the combined organization moved Barrick to its current position as the largest gold producer, ahead of Newmont Mining Corporation.

Founding and early years

Barrick Gold Corporation evolved from a privately held
Privately held company
A privately held company or close corporation is a business company owned either by non-governmental organizations or by a relatively small number of shareholders or company members which does not offer or trade its company stock to the general public on the stock market exchanges, but rather the...

 North American oil and gas company, Barrick Resources. After suffering huge financial losses in oil and gas, principal Peter Munk decided to focus on gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

. Barrick Resources Corporation became a publicly traded company on May 2, 1983, listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange
Toronto Stock Exchange
Toronto Stock Exchange is the largest stock exchange in Canada, the third largest in North America and the seventh largest in the world by market capitalisation. Based in Canada's largest city, Toronto, it is owned by and operated as a subsidiary of the TMX Group for the trading of senior equities...

.

The company’s first acquisition
Mergers and acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions refers to the aspect of corporate strategy, corporate finance and management dealing with the buying, selling, dividing and combining of different companies and similar entities that can help an enterprise grow rapidly in its sector or location of origin, or a new field or...

 was the Renabie mine
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...

, near Wawa, Ontario
Wawa, Ontario
Wawa is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, located within the Algoma District. Formerly known as the township of Michipicoten, the township was officially renamed for its largest and best-known community in 2009....

, which produced around 16,000 ounces of gold in 1984. In 1984, Barrick acquired Camflo Mining, which had operations in the province of Quebec and in the U.S. state of Nevada. Barrick’s effort to purchase was slowed by skepticism the company could assume Camflo’s debt of around $100 million. The sale was finalized in May, 1984, with terms that obligated Barrick to repay the debt to The Royal Bank of Canada
Royal Bank of Canada
The Royal Bank of Canada or RBC Financial Group is the largest financial institution in Canada, as measured by deposits, revenues, and market capitalization. The bank serves seventeen million clients and has 80,100 employees worldwide. The company corporate headquarters are located in Toronto,...

 within one year. The debt was fully paid in January, 1985.

Barrick Resource’s next acquisition was the Mercur mine in Mercur, Utah
Mercur, Utah
Mercur is a historical hard rock mining ghost town located at in Tooele County, Utah, USA. Its elevation from sea level is approximately 2,042m...

 in June, 1985, followed by the Goldstrike mine
Goldstrike mine
Barrick Goldstrike is a gold mine in North Eastern Nevada, Lynn District, Eureka County. It is located on the Carlin Trend where several other mines are found. Barrick Gold started mining Goldstrike in 1986. It is a part of the largest gold mining company in North America, Barrick...

, in Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

, in 1986. The Goldstrike mine is located on the Carlin Trend, estimated to hold 100,000,000 ounces of gold.

1986 to 2005

The company’s name was changed to American Barrick Resources in 1986. It was listed on the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...

 in February, 1987. The name was changed to the present Barrick Gold Corporation in 1995.

In a 1994 friendly takeover, American Barrick became the third largest gold mining company in the world when it acquired the Canadian mining company Lac Minerals, which owned properties in North and South America. Two years later, in 1996, Arequipa Resources, owner of properties including the Pierina mine in Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

, accepted a takeover offer from the renamed Barrick Gold Corporation, worth about USD $800,000,000. A third acquisition followed in early 1999, when Barrick Gold acquired Sutton Resources Ltd. for around $350 million in stock, assuming ownership of properties in Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

. In 2001 Barrick Gold made another stock deal, worth about USD $2.3 billion, to buy the Homestake Mining Company
Homestake Mining Company
The Homestake Mining Company was one of the largest gold mining businesses in the United States from the 19th century through the beginning of the 21st...

, then one of the oldest mining companies in the United States. The purchase moved Barrick to second largest gold producer in the world.

Placer Dome acquisition

The company offered US $9.2 billion for Placer Dome Inc. in a bid announced October 31, 2005. During the following weeks, Placer Dome recommended shareholders reject the offer. In December, Placer Dome’s board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...

 approved an increased offer worth US $10.4 billion. The transaction closed in early 2006, making Barrick the world’s largest gold producer.

2006 to present

On July 24, 2006, Barrick announced their intent to purchase NovaGold Resources
NovaGold Resources
NovaGold Resources Inc. is a mineral exploration, development, and mining company. NovaGold has 50% ownership of two of the world’s largest known undeveloped gold and copper-gold deposits...

 and Pioneer Metals. The unsolicited bid for NovaGold Resources was at US $1.29 billion or US $14.50 per share, and the solicited bid for Pioneer Metals was at US $53 million or US $.88 per share. NovaGold management quickly characterized Barrick's bid for their company as undervalued. Pioneer management however quickly endorsed Barrick's bid for their company. Previously on June 19, 2006, NovaGold made an unsolicited bid for Pioneer Metals at US $31 million. NovaGold and Pioneer are currently in litigation over the Grace project in British Columbia, Canada. That project is adjacent to NovaGold's Galore Creek project and 75 kilometers away from Barrick's Eskay Creek mine. NovaGold and Barrick also cross paths at the Donlin Creek project in Alaska where NovaGold is 70% owner and Barrick is 30% owner, however Barrick has the right to earn in a 70% share as a result of their takeover of Placer Dome in January 2006.

On August 14, 2006, NovaGold filed a lawsuit in British Columbia, Canada alleging that Barrick misused confidential information to make its bid for Pioneer metals. As part of the suit, NovaGold is asking that any shares tendered to Barrick under the Pioneer bid be held in a trust for NovaGold. On August 25, 2006, NovaGold filed a second lawsuit against Barrick - this time in the District of Alaska court alleging that Barrick violated U.S. security laws by misrepresenting its position by repeatedly stating it is on-track to earn a 70% interest in the Donlin Creek mine. The suit sought a temporary suspension of Barrick's hostile bid for NovaGold.

On December 16, 2006, after extending the bid for NovaGold 6 times, increasing the offer once, and lowering the threshold for takeup of tendered shares from 75% to 50%, and then to no minimum, Barrick finally let the bid expire. The net result for Barrick was a takeup of 12.7% of the outstanding NovaGold shares. Barrick's then Chief Executive Greg Wilkins indicated that the company would look elsewhere for acquisition opportunities. More recently, the company was reported to be eyeing Aurelian Resources in Ecuador.

In November 2007, NovaGold and Teck Cominco announced the suspension of Galore Creek project and Nova Gold share plummeted. During the summer and Autumn of 2008, Nova Gold tried to put their Rock Creek project in Alaska into production. After less than two months of operation, production was shut down for obscure reasons. On January 2, 2009, Nova Gold announced a 60 million dollar private placement for a 30% control in the company, valuing the company at approximately 200 millions dollars, or 1/8 of the price offered by Barrick two years earlier.

Through 2007 and 2008 the company offered a USD $10 million prize to the scientific community in a bid to improve silver recovery rates at its Veladero mine in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

. Recovery rates for silver were below 7%, because the metal is bound within silica
Silicon dioxide
The chemical compound silicon dioxide, also known as silica , is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula '. It has been known for its hardness since antiquity...

, which is difficult to dissolve using conventional cyanidation
Gold cyanidation
Gold cyanidation is a metallurgical technique for extracting gold from low-grade ore by converting the gold to a water soluble coordination complex. It is the most commonly used process for gold extraction...

 processing. 1,750 researchers from 43 countries registered as participants with 130 proposals submitted. Nine proposals were selected for testing.

Barrick Gold created the largest stock
Common stock
Common stock is a form of corporate equity ownership, a type of security. It is called "common" to distinguish it from preferred stock. In the event of bankruptcy, common stock investors receive their funds after preferred stock holders, bondholders, creditors, etc...

 offering in Canadian history during 2009, when it issued a $3 billion dollar equity offering, which was increased the following day to $3.5 billion in response to market demand. Revenue from the offering was used to eliminate the company’s gold hedges
Hedge (finance)
A hedge is an investment position intended to offset potential losses that may be incurred by a companion investment.A hedge can be constructed from many types of financial instruments, including stocks, exchange-traded funds, insurance, forward contracts, swaps, options, many types of...

, which locked in the sale price of future production, rather than selling it at market prices.

In February, 2010, Barrick Gold announced plans to create a separate company to hold its assets in Tanzania, called African Barrick Gold
African Barrick Gold
African Barrick Gold plc is a gold mining business operating in Tanzania. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...

. Barrick Gold would retain majority ownership in the new company, after its listing on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...

. African Barrick Gold was listed on the London Stock Exchange in mid-March 2010, with an IPO valuation at USD$3.6 billion. The shares offered on the LSE raised just more than 500 million pounds. In June the company was admitted to the FTSE 100 Index.

In April 2011, Barrick beat a takeover offer for Equinox Minerals
Equinox Minerals
Equinox Minerals is a mining and exploration company with corporate offices in Perth, Australia and Toronto, Canada. It has operations in Peru, Australia and Zambia but most of its current activity is concentrated in Zambia where through subsidiary the Lumwana Mining Company, it operates mines in...

 by China Minmetals
China Minmetals
China Minmetals Corporation is a Chinese metals and mineral trading company. It is a state-controlled corporation existing under the laws of the People's Republic of China, is a diversified metals and mining company based in Beijing, China...

.

Mining practices

Barrick Gold has been accused of a number of environmentally unsound practices by environmental groups. The company has countered accusations by activists, challenging the accuracy of criticisms. It reported environment-related spending of USD $89 million in 2009.
Criticisms include poisonous spills of cyanide
Cyanide
A cyanide is a chemical compound that contains the cyano group, -C≡N, which consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom. Cyanides most commonly refer to salts of the anion CN−. Most cyanides are highly toxic....

, mercury
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...

 and other heavy metals
Heavy metals
A heavy metal is a member of a loosely-defined subset of elements that exhibit metallic properties. It mainly includes the transition metals, some metalloids, lanthanides, and actinides. Many different definitions have been proposed—some based on density, some on atomic number or atomic weight,...

, leading to environmental damage and the poisoning of human populations. Critics object to the use of gold cyanidation
Gold cyanidation
Gold cyanidation is a metallurgical technique for extracting gold from low-grade ore by converting the gold to a water soluble coordination complex. It is the most commonly used process for gold extraction...

 in the mine at Lake Cowal
Lake Cowal
Lake Cowal is the largest inland lake in New South Wales, Australia. The lake is ephemeral, being fed by the small Bland Creek and by the occasional flooding of the Lachlan River. Despite this, it retains a considerable amount of water in about 70% of years....

 and other gold mines, and point to the release of approximately seven tons of mercury
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...

 during 2004-2005 at the Super Pit gold mine
Super Pit gold mine
The Fimiston Open Pit, colloquially known as the Super Pit, is Australia's largest open cut gold mine. The Super Pit is located off the Goldfields Highway on the south-east edge of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Western Australia. The pit is oblong in shape and is approximately 3.5 kilometres long, 1.5...

(a 50/50 joint venture with Newmont Mining Corporation) near the city of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Western Australia. In 2010, the government of Western Australia issued environmental approval for the joint owners, Barrick Gold and Newmont Mining, to expand the mine site and continue operating until 2021. The Lake Cowal Mine was the first mine in the world certified under the International Cyanide Management Code
International Cyanide Management Code
The International Cyanide Management Code is voluntary code of industry practices for cyanide handing in metal mining and processing. Through a process started in 2000, it was jointly promulgated in 2002 by the United Nations Environment Program and the predecessor to the International Council on...

. The code was developed jointly by the mining industry and stakeholders with the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) to certify management, health and safety practices in the production through third party audits. The mine site uses chromatography to "track and manage both the cyanide employed to leach the gold from its ore and the reagents subsequently added to destroy residual cyanide before discharge into the tailings dam."

Nineteen of the company’s mines have since been certified under the code, while three Barrick operations do not use cyanide.

Following accusations connected with the Porgera Gold Mine
Porgera Gold Mine
The Porgera Gold Mine is a large gold and silver mining operation in Enga province, Papua New Guinea , located at the head of the Porgera Valley. The mine is situated in the rain forest covered highlands at an altitude of 2,200 to 2,700 m, in a region of high rainfall, landslides, and frequent...

, on January 30, 2009 the company was excluded from The Government Pension Fund of Norway
The Government Pension Fund of Norway
The Government Pension Fund of Norway comprises two entirely separate sovereign wealth funds owned by the Government of Norway:* The Government Pension Fund - Global...

, one of the world's largest Sovereign Wealth Fund
Sovereign wealth fund
A sovereign wealth fund is a state-owned investment fund composed of financial assets such as stocks, bonds, property, precious metals or other financial instruments. Sovereign wealth funds invest globally. Some of them have grabbed attention making bad investments in several Wall Street financial...

s. The fund's Council on Ethics in an investigation found "an unacceptable risk of contribution to ongoing and future environmental damage" at the Porgera mine:

The Council has investigated whether riverine tailings disposal from the Porgera mine in Papua New Guinea generates severe environmental damage, and finds it established that the mining operation at Porgera entails considerable pollution. [...] In the Council’s view heavy metals contamination constitutes the biggest threat of severe and long-term environmental damage. The Council also considers it probable that the discharge has a negative impact on the population’s life and health, including both the residents of the actual mining area and the tribal peoples who live along the river downstream of the mine.


The fund sold all its stock in the company, worth ca. 245m US$, as a result of these conclusions. A spokesman for the company disputed the allegations, saying the company was "making steady progress in improving its performance. The mine follows a government-approved environmental management and monitoring program, and we continue to operate in full compliance with legal and other requirements."

The tailings disposal is approved by the government of Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...

, which monitors to ensure World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...

 standards for toxicity. Factors including the nature of the topography
Topography
Topography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...

 geochemistry
Geochemistry
The field of geochemistry involves study of the chemical composition of the Earth and other planets, chemical processes and reactions that govern the composition of rocks, water, and soils, and the cycles of matter and energy that transport the Earth's chemical components in time and space, and...

 and tectonics
Tectonics
Tectonics is a field of study within geology concerned generally with the structures within the lithosphere of the Earth and particularly with the forces and movements that have operated in a region to create these structures.Tectonics is concerned with the orogenies and tectonic development of...

 influence tailings facility design, such that "the difficulty in ensuring that a long-term maintenance plan can be sustained in perpetuity given the challenging conditions, combined with social demands on the customary lands often preclude any tailings storage facility development." Tailings are neutralized before discharge to address residual cyanide and metals. A study found lead and silver in mine sediments had been noted near hazardous levels but detected human health concerns(s) were related to "the accumulation of mercury in Lake Murray, which cannot be isolated as an effect of the mine-derived sediment." Some tailings at Porgera mine are managed through paste backfill, a process where tailings are mixed with a binder like cement and pumped into voids under ground to solidify. The Porgera Mine was certified under International Cyanide Management Code following evaluation by an independent third party examiner in November, 2009.

Relations to local populations

In April and May 2008, indigenous leaders from four countries opposing large-scale gold mining on their lands described the adverse impacts of Barrick Gold Corporation. These leaders spoke of Barrick Gold's tactics in "suppressing dissident voices, dividing communities, and manipulating local and national politics". They also related stories about "lack of free, prior and informed consent for local people". Barrick is party to a lawsuit originally filed against Placer Dome Inc. by the local government claiming compensation for the 1996 Marcopper Mining Disaster
Marcopper Mining Disaster
The Marcopper mining disaster was one of the Philippines' largest mining disasters to date. The disaster occurred on the Philippine island of Marinduque a province of the Philippines located in the MIMAROPA region in Luzon....

. Barrick Gold inherited the litigation after taking over Placer Dome, Inc
Placer Dome
Placer Dome Inc. was a large mining company specializing in gold and other precious metals, with corporate headquarters in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada....

.

Through 2009 and into 2010 Barrick Gold’s Cortez Hills project was the subject of litigation in Nevada. Opponents appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Alaska* District of Arizona...

, challenging a ruling in the United States District Court for the District of Nevada
United States District Court for the District of Nevada
The United States District Court for the District of Nevada is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Nevada. The court has locations in Las Vegas and Reno....

, which denied the bid to block the project. The Appeals Court "upheld a federal judge's finding that opponents of the mine failed to prove they were likely to prevail on claims the mine would cause visual harm to Mount Tenabo and create a substantial burden on the tribes' ability to exercise their religion" but ruled the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...

 previous environmental review of water and air pollution impacts "was inadequate under the National Environmental Policy Act
National Environmental Policy Act
The National Environmental Policy Act is a United States environmental law that established a U.S. national policy promoting the enhancement of the environment and also established the President's Council on Environmental Quality ....

" and ordered the District Court to provide "appropriate" injunctive
Injunction
An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order that requires a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. A party that fails to comply with an injunction faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...

 relief while the Bureau of Land Management conducted further study. In March 2011 the Bureau of Land Management approved a subsequent study on environmental impacts, allowing the mine to operate as originally proposed.

In 2008, the company negotiated an agreement with four of five regional Western Shoshone
Western Shoshone
Western Shoshone comprises several Shoshone tribes that are indigenous to the Great Basin and have lands identified in the Treaty of Ruby Valley 1863. They resided in Idaho, Nevada, California, and Utah. The tribes are very closely related culturally to the Paiute, Goshute, Bannock, Ute, and...

 tribes, providing financial resources for education and wellness initiatives, including a long-term scholarship program, allocated at the Tribes’ discretion. A former tribal chairman of the Duck Valley Shoshone spoke of the company as "a pretty progressive entity." In British Columbia the Tahltan Nation has thanked the company for encouraging local sustainable development while operating the Eskay Creek mine from 2001 to 2008.

In 2010, Barrick Gold Corporation became the 18th company to join the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights  which provides "guidance to extractives companies on maintaining the security of their operations in a manner that respects human rights and fundamental freedoms." Admission follows an eight step process that requires approval by the Voluntary Principles plenary, the main decision-making body, consisting of all active members, drawn from participating governments, companies and non-governmental organizations. Barrick Gold participates in a number of corporate social responsibility programs, such as the United Nations Global Compact. The company is a signatory to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. It also participates in The Global Reporting Initiative, Business for Social Responsibility and The Global Business Coalition on HIV/Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria. On September 7, 2007, Barrick was added to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. The company is a member of The International Leadership Council (ILC) of The Nature Conservancy. In Papua New Guinea, the Porgera Joint Venture participated in the development of a wildlife conservation area in the Kaijende Highlands.

Renewable energy

In 2007, Barrick Gold installed the world's highest-situated wind turbine
Wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used to produce electricity, the device may be called a wind generator or wind charger. If the mechanical energy is used to drive machinery, such as for grinding grain or...

 at the Veladero mine in San Juan Province (Argentina)
San Juan Province (Argentina)
San Juan is a province of Argentina, located in the western part of the country. Neighbouring provinces are, moving clockwise from the north, La Rioja, San Luis and Mendoza. It borders with Chile at the west....

 at nearly 4,200m elevation.

The company has made a request to Chile’s environmental authority, COREMA, to expand a proposed wind farm project in Chile’s Region IV from ten wind turbines to eighteen wind turbines, that would generate 36 megawatts of electricity into the national power grid. In Nevada, Barrick operates a 1-megawatt solar panel farm. There are also plans to build a 9-turbine wind farm at the Golden Sunlight mine
Golden Sunlight mine
The Golden Sunlight mine is an open pit gold mine in Jefferson County, Montana, approximately east of Butte, Montana. The mine sits at an elevation of on the Bull Mountain range. The mine has been in operation since 1975, and in 2008, the mine produced of gold. The mine's proprietors estimate...

 in Montana when the operation closes.

Pascua Lama project

Pascua Lama
Pascua Lama
Pascua-Lama is an open pit mining project of gold, silver, copper and other minerals. Pascua Lama is located in the Andes mountains, south of Atacama, straddling the border between Chile and Argentina at an altitude of over 4,500 metres. Toronto-based Barrick Gold, the world's largest gold mining...

 is a mining project at a large and complex poly-metallic orebody in the high mountains south of Atacama on the border between Chile and Argentina. In early 2006, the project was approved by the environmental authority in the region of Chile where the mine will be constructed. The 19-member regional environmental commission (COREMA) voted unanimously to allow the project to proceed, with conditions imposed to protect the ice fields and the water supply to the Huasco Valley. A decision to move forward with the project was deferred while sectoral permits were finalized for activity like road construction and taxation agreements between Chile and Argentina were negotiated by the two countries. In May, 2009 it was announced the project would proceed to construction.

Barrick Gold acquired the deposit with its acquisition of Lac Minerals in 1993 and is investing close to US$3 billion in this project, which had a planned lifetime of at least 20 years.

The original scope of the ore body lay partially under two small glaciers which eventually feed glacial meltwater
Meltwater
Meltwater is the water released by the melting of snow or ice, including glacial ice and ice shelfs over oceans. Meltwater is often found in the ablation zone of glaciers, where the rate of snow cover is reducing...

 into the rivers of the Huasco Province
Huasco Province
Huasco Province is one of three provinces of the northern Chilean region of Atacama . Its capital is the city of Vallenar.-Geography and demography:...

. Environmental reviews took place over more than two years and government authorities imposed 400 conditions on the company in order to mine. As a consequence, more than one million ounces of gold at the site will not be mined. USD $70 million has been placed in trust for spending over twenty years on water related infrastructure, and in the areas of health, education and agriculture. In January, 2010, Chilean authorities began a probe into construction, over concerns about a water source to the project, construction noise and control of dust levels.

Legal controversy

In February 2010 lawyers for Barrick Gold threatened to sue the Canadian publisher Talonbooks
Talonbooks
Talonbooks is an independent publisher of Canadian literature, whose repertoire features authors writing in the literary genres of poetry, fiction and drama, as well as non-fiction books in the fields of ethnography, environmental and social issues, cultural studies, and literary criticism.The...

 for defamation if it proceeded with plans to publish the book Imperial Canada Inc.: Legal Haven of Choice for the World's Mining Industries by Alain Deneault. Publisher Karl Siegler described this as "libel chill," pointing out that since the book had not yet been published, Barrick Gold could not know whether or not its contents actually constituted defamation. Subsequently, Talon decided to publish the work and ‘issued a statement saying they "intend to show the complete manuscript to Barrick prior to the book’s release, to allow Barrick the opportunity to ‘correct’ any ‘falsehoods’ about how they conduct their business affairs, world-wide, that they feel it may contain."’

Gold production

Recent gold production figures for the company's mines were (ounces per annum):
Mine Country 2007 2008 2009 2010
Bald Mountain Gold Mine   United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

75,000 59,000
Bulyanhulu Gold Mine
Bulyanhulu Gold Mine
Bulyanhulu Gold Mine is an underground gold mine in the Shinyanga Region of Tanzania, located 55 kilometres south of Lake Victoria. It is operated by African Barrick Gold....

  Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

249,000
Buzwagi Gold Mine
Buzwagi Gold Mine
Buzwagi Gold Mine is an open pit gold mine in the Shinyanga Region of Tanzania, located 6 kilometres southeast from the town of Kahama. It is operated by African Barrick Gold....

  Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

189,000
Cortez Gold Mine
Cortez Gold Mine
Cortez Gold Mine is a large gold mining and processing facility in Lander and Eureka County, Nevada, United States, located approximately southwest of Elko. It is owned and operated by Barrick Gold and is made up of the Pipeline and South Pipeline deposits and the Cortez Hills deposit...

  United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

518,000 1,140,000
Cowal Gold Mine   Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

233,000 298,000
Darlot-Centenary Gold Mine
Darlot-Centenary Gold Mine
The Darlot-Centenary Gold Mine is a gold mine located 58 km east of Leinster, Western Australia.It is operated by Barrick Gold and, since the beginning of 2008, part of its Yilgarn South operation, which consists of Darlot, the Lawlers Gold Mine and the Granny Smith Gold Mine...

  Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

120,000 see Yilgarn South
Golden Sunlight Gold Mine   United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

28,000 0
Goldstrike Gold Mine
Goldstrike mine
Barrick Goldstrike is a gold mine in North Eastern Nevada, Lynn District, Eureka County. It is located on the Carlin Trend where several other mines are found. Barrick Gold started mining Goldstrike in 1986. It is a part of the largest gold mining company in North America, Barrick...

  United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

1,360,000 1,240,000
Granny Smith Gold Mine
Granny Smith Gold Mine
The Granny Smith Gold Mine is a gold mine located 20 km south of Laverton, Western Australia near Mount Weld.It is operated by Barrick Gold and, since the beginning of 2008, part of its Yilgarn South operation, which consists of Granny Smith, the Lawlers Gold Mine and the Darlot-Centenary Gold...

  Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

175,000 see Yilgarn South
Hemlo Gold Mine   Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

275,000 242,000
Kanowna Belle Gold Mine
Kanowna Belle Gold Mine
The Kanowna Belle Gold Mine is a gold mine located 19 km north east of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, near the ghost town of Kanowna.It is operated by Barrick Gold...

  Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

362,000 267,000 284,000 251,000
Lagunas Norte Gold Mine   Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

1,000,000 808,000
Lawlers Gold Mine
Lawlers Gold Mine
The Lawlers Gold Mine is a gold mine located 23 km south west of Leinster, Western Australia.It is operated by Barrick Gold and, since the beginning of 2008, part of its Yilgarn South operation, which consists of Lawlers, the Darlot-Centenary Gold Mine and the Granny Smith Gold Mine...

  Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

115,000 see Yilgarn South
Marigold Gold Mine 1   United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

49,000 46,000
North Mara Gold Mine
North Mara Gold Mine
North Mara Gold Mine is an open pit gold mine in the Tarime District of the Mara Region of Tanzania. It is operated by African Barrick Gold.It is one of four gold mines African Barrick Gold, a subsidiary of Barrick Gold, operates in Tanzania, the other three being Tulawaka, Bulyanhulu and the...

  Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

212,000
Osborne Mine   Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

43,000
Pascua-Lama Mine   Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

   Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

Pierina Gold Mine   Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

271,000 191,000
Plutonic Gold Mine
Plutonic Gold Mine
The Plutonic Gold Mine is a gold mine located 82 km east north east of Peak Hill, Western Australia.It is operated by Barrick Gold and located at the Plutonic Well Greenstone Belt.-History:...

  Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

208,000 127,000 144,000 136,000
Porgera Gold Mine
Porgera Gold Mine
The Porgera Gold Mine is a large gold and silver mining operation in Enga province, Papua New Guinea , located at the head of the Porgera Valley. The mine is situated in the rain forest covered highlands at an altitude of 2,200 to 2,700 m, in a region of high rainfall, landslides, and frequent...

 6
  Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...

551,000 519,000
Pueblo Viejo Gold Mine 8   Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...

Round Mountain Gold Mine 2   United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

209,000 178,000
Ruby Hill Gold Mine   United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

104,000 81,000
Super Pit Gold Mine (Kalgoorlie)
Super Pit gold mine
The Fimiston Open Pit, colloquially known as the Super Pit, is Australia's largest open cut gold mine. The Super Pit is located off the Goldfields Highway on the south-east edge of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Western Australia. The pit is oblong in shape and is approximately 3.5 kilometres long, 1.5...

 5
  Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

314,000 307,000 345,000 394,000
Turquoise Ridge Gold Mine 3   United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

133,000 124,000
Tulawaka Gold Mine
Tulawaka Gold Mine
Tulawaka Gold Mine is a combined underground and open pit gold mine located in the Biharamulo district, in the Kagera Region of Tanzania. It is operated by African Barrick Gold, who ownes 70% of the mine...

 4
  Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

66,000
Veladero Gold Mine   Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

611,000 1,120,000
Yilgarn South 7   Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

N/A 325,000 352,000 314,000
Overall World 8,643,000 8,060,000 7,400,000
  • 1 Barrick owns 33% of the Marigold Gold Mine, production figures are Barricks share of production.
  • 2 Barrick owns 50% of the Round Mountain Gold Mine, production figures are Barricks share of production.
  • 3 Barrick owns 75% of the Turquoise Ridge Gold Mine, production figures are Barricks share of production.
  • 4 Barrick owns 70% of the Tulawaka Ridge Gold Mine, production figures are Barricks share of production.
  • 5 Barrick owns 50% of the Super Pit Gold Mine, production figures are Barricks share of production.
  • 6 Barrick owns 95% of the Porgera Gold Mine, production figures are Barricks share of production.
  • 7 Since the beginning of 2008, Yilgarn South consists of the Darlot, Granny Smith and Lawlers Gold Mines.
  • 8 Barrick holds a 60% interest of the Pueblo Viejo Mine, production figures are Barricks share of production.

Copper production

Recent copper production figures for the company's mines were (pounds per annum):
Mine Country 2007 2008 2009 2010
Osborne Mine   Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

91,000,000
Zaldívar Copper Mine   Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

302,000,000 318,000,000
Overall World 393,000,000

See also

  • Gold as an investment
    Gold as an investment
    Of all the precious metals, gold is the most popular as an investment. Investors generally buy gold as a hedge or harbor against economic, political, or social fiat currency crises...

  • Silver as an investment
    Silver as an investment
    Silver, like other precious metals, may be used as an investment. For more than four thousand years, silver has been regarded as a form of money and store of value. However, since the end of the silver standard, silver has lost its role as legal tender in many developed countries such as the...

  • Gold mining in Alaska
    Gold mining in Alaska
    Gold mining in Alaska, a state of the United States, has been a major industry and impetus for exploration and settlement since a few years after the United States acquired the territory from Russia. Russian explorers discovered placer gold in the Kenai River in 1848, but no gold was produced...


External links

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