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==History ==
==History ==
===Founding and early years===
===Founding and early years===
Barrick Gold Corporation evolved from a [[privately held company|privately held]] North American oil and gas company,<ref>Rohmer, P.191-192</ref> Barrick Resources.<ref>Rohmer, P.193</ref> After suffering huge financial losses in oil and gas,<ref>Rohmer, P.198</ref> principal Peter Munk decided to focus on [[gold]].<ref>Rohmer, P.197</ref> Barrick Resources Corporation became a [[publicly traded company]] on May 2, 1983<ref>{{cite news| last = Abrams | first = Ovid | title = Barrick grows from zero to 8 million oz of output in 25 years | newspaper = Metals Week | date = May 19, 2008 }}</ref>, listing on the [[Toronto Stock Exchange]].<ref>{{cite news|title = Mining Claim Abstract Transaction Listing | newspaper = Ontario Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry | date = July 14, 1984 | url = http://www.mci.mndm.gov.on.ca/Claims/Cf_Claims/clm_cssm.CFM?Claim_View__Claim_Number=641390 | accessdate = September 29, 2009}}</ref>
Barrick Gold Corporation evolved from a [[privately held company|privately held]] North American oil and gas company,<ref>Rohmer, P.191-192</ref> Barrick Resources Corporation.<ref>Rohmer, P.193</ref> After suffering huge financial losses in oil and gas,<ref>Rohmer, P.198</ref> principal Peter Munk decided to focus on [[gold]].<ref>Rohmer, P.197</ref> Barrick Resources Corporation became a [[publicly traded company]] on May 2, 1983<ref>{{cite news| last = Abrams | first = Ovid | title = Barrick grows from zero to 8 million oz of output in 25 years | newspaper = Metals Week | date = May 19, 2008 }}</ref>, listing on the [[Toronto Stock Exchange]].<ref>{{cite news|title = Mining Claim Abstract Transaction Listing | newspaper = Ontario Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry | date = July 14, 1984 | url = http://www.mci.mndm.gov.on.ca/Claims/Cf_Claims/clm_cssm.CFM?Claim_View__Claim_Number=641390 | accessdate = September 29, 2009}}</ref>


The company’s first [[mergers and acquisitions|acquisition]] was the Renabie [[mining|mine]], near [[Wawa, Ontario]],<ref>Rohmer, P. 202</ref> which produced around 16,000 ounces of gold in 1984.<ref name="Rohmer, P.206">Rohmer, P.206</ref> In 1984, Barrick acquired Camflo Mining,<ref>{{cite news|title = Hall of Fame Inductee Robert M. Smith | url = http://www.halloffame.mining.ca/halloffame/english/bios/smith.html | accessdate = October 1, 2009}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> which had operations in the province of Quebec<ref name="Rohmer, P.206"/> and in the U.S. state of Nevada.<ref>Rohmer, P.228</ref> Barrick’s effort to purchase was slowed by skepticism the company could assume Camflo’s debt of around $100 million.<ref>Rohmer, P.207</ref> The sale was finalized in May, 1984, with terms that obligated Barrick to repay the debt to The [[Royal Bank of Canada]] within one year.<ref>Rohmer, P.214</ref> The debt was fully paid in January, 1985.<ref>Rohmer, P.221</ref>
The company’s first [[mergers and acquisitions|acquisition]] was the Renabie [[mining|mine]], near [[Wawa, Ontario]],<ref>Rohmer, P. 202</ref> which produced around 16,000 ounces of gold in 1984.<ref name="Rohmer, P.206">Rohmer, P.206</ref> In 1984, Barrick acquired Camflo Mining,<ref>{{cite news|title = Hall of Fame Inductee Robert M. Smith | url = http://www.halloffame.mining.ca/halloffame/english/bios/smith.html | accessdate = October 1, 2009}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> which had operations in the province of Quebec<ref name="Rohmer, P.206"/> and in the U.S. state of Nevada.<ref>Rohmer, P.228</ref> Barrick’s effort to purchase was slowed by skepticism the company could assume Camflo’s debt of around $100 million.<ref>Rohmer, P.207</ref> The sale was finalized in May, 1984, with terms that obligated Barrick to repay the debt to The [[Royal Bank of Canada]] within one year.<ref>Rohmer, P.214</ref> The debt was fully paid in January, 1985.<ref>Rohmer, P.221</ref>
Line 53: Line 53:
Barrick Gold created the largest [[common stock|stock]] offering in Canadian history during 2009<ref>{{cite web|last = Greenwood | first = John | title = How Barrick unloaded its deadweight | newspaper = The Vancouver Sun | publisher = Financial Post | date = January 27, 2010 | url = http://www.financialpost.com/related/topics/story.html?id=2493330 | accessdate = February 1, 2010}}</ref>, when it issued a $3 billion dollar equity offering, which was increased the following day to $3.5 billion in response to market demand.<ref>{{cite news|last = French | first = Cameron | title = Barrick boosts equity offering, shares slide | newspaper = Reuters | date = September 9, 2009 | url = http://ca.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idCATRE5883C820090909?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0 | accessdate = February 1, 2010}}</ref> Revenue from the offering was used to eliminate the company’s gold [[hedge (finance)|hedges]], which locked in the sale price of future production, rather than selling it at market prices.<ref>{{cite web|last = Nystrom | first = Scott | title = Bullish Move: Barrick Breaks Free From Hedges | newspaper = Forbes.com | date = September 14, 2009 | url = http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/14/anglogold-newmont-mining-personal-finance-investing-ideas-barrick-gold.html | accessdate = February 1, 2010}}</ref>
Barrick Gold created the largest [[common stock|stock]] offering in Canadian history during 2009<ref>{{cite web|last = Greenwood | first = John | title = How Barrick unloaded its deadweight | newspaper = The Vancouver Sun | publisher = Financial Post | date = January 27, 2010 | url = http://www.financialpost.com/related/topics/story.html?id=2493330 | accessdate = February 1, 2010}}</ref>, when it issued a $3 billion dollar equity offering, which was increased the following day to $3.5 billion in response to market demand.<ref>{{cite news|last = French | first = Cameron | title = Barrick boosts equity offering, shares slide | newspaper = Reuters | date = September 9, 2009 | url = http://ca.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idCATRE5883C820090909?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0 | accessdate = February 1, 2010}}</ref> Revenue from the offering was used to eliminate the company’s gold [[hedge (finance)|hedges]], which locked in the sale price of future production, rather than selling it at market prices.<ref>{{cite web|last = Nystrom | first = Scott | title = Bullish Move: Barrick Breaks Free From Hedges | newspaper = Forbes.com | date = September 14, 2009 | url = http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/14/anglogold-newmont-mining-personal-finance-investing-ideas-barrick-gold.html | accessdate = February 1, 2010}}</ref>


In February, 2010, Barrick Gold announced plans to create a separate company to hold its assets in Tanzania, called [[African Barrick Gold]].<ref name="Bieshuevel">{{cite web|last = Bieshuevel | first = Thomas | title = Barrick Spinoff to Create Biggest UK Gold Miner (Update 2) | newspaper = Business Week | publisher = Bloomberg | date = February 18, 2010 | accessdate = February 18, 2010}}</ref> Barrick Gold would retain majority ownership in the new company, after its listing on the [[London Stock Exchange]].<ref name="Bieshuevel"/> African Barrick Gold was listed on the London Stock Exchange in mid-March 2010, with an IPO valuation at USD$3.6 billion. <ref>{{cite news| url=http://in.reuters.com/article/idINLDE62G29P20100319 | work=Reuters | title=African Barrick Gold IPO priced at 575 pence | date=2010-03-19 | accessdate=2010-08-16}}</ref> The shares offered on the LSE raised just more than 500 million pounds. <ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.thestar.com/business/article/782584--african-barrick-s-ipo-bought-up-fully-in-london | work=The Star | title=African Barrick's IPO bought up fully in London | date=2010-03-20 | accessdate=2010-08-16}}</ref> In June the company was admitted to the FTSE 100 Index. <ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.ftse.com/Media_Centre/Press_Releases/index.jsp?startat=32 | title=African Barrick Gold and Essar Energy to join FTSE 100 | date=2010-06-09 | accessdate=2010-08-16}}</ref>
In February, 2010, Barrick Gold announced plans to create a separate company to hold its assets in Tanzania, called [[African Barrick Gold]].<ref name="Bieshuevel">{{cite web|last = Bieshuevel | first = Thomas | title = Barrick Spinoff to Create Biggest UK Gold Miner (Update 2) | newspaper = Business Week | publisher = Bloomberg | date = February 18, 2010 | accessdate = February 18, 2010}}</ref> Barrick Gold would retain majority ownership in the new company, after its listing on the [[London Stock Exchange]].<ref name="Bieshuevel"/> African Barrick Gold was listed on the London Stock Exchange in mid-March 2010, with an IPO valuation at USD$3.6 billion. <ref>{{cite news| url=http://in.reuters.com/article/idINLDE62G29P20100319 | work=Reuters | title=African Barrick Gold IPO priced at 575 pence | date=2010-03-19 | accessdate=2010-08-16}}</ref> The shares offered on the LSE raised just more than 500 million pounds. <ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.thestar.com/business/article/782584--african-barrick-s-ipo-bought-up-fully-in-london | work=The Star | title=African Barrick's IPO bought up fully in London | date=2010-03-20 | accessdate=2010-08-16}}</ref> In June the company was admitted to the FTSE 100 Index. <ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.ftse.com/Media_Centre/Press_Releases/index.jsp?startat=32 | title=African Barrick Gold and Essar Energy to join FTSE 100 | date=2010-06-09 | accessdate=2010-08-16}}</ref>


==Environmental impact==
==Environmental impact==

Revision as of 07:35, 19 January 2011

Barrick Gold
Company typePublic
(TSX: ABX)
(NYSE: ABX)
IndustryMining
Headquarters
Toronto
,
Canada
Key people
Peter Munk, Chairman
Aaron Regent, President & CEO
Peter J. Kinver, COO
Jamie C. Sokalsky, CFO
ProductsGold
Silver
Copper
Revenue$7.913 Billion (2008)
$0.785 Billion (2008)
Number of employees
16,733 (2008)[1]
DivisionsAfrica
Australia-Pacific
North America
South America
Websitewww.barrick.com

Barrick Gold Corporation (TSX: ABX, NYSE: ABX) is the largest pure gold mining company in the world, with its headquarters in Toronto, Ontario, 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, the United States, Canada, Dominican Republic, Australia, Peru, Chile, Russia, South Africa, Pakistan, Colombia, Argentina and Tanzania. For 2008, it produced 7.7 million ounces of gold 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. The production of the combined organization moved Barrick to its current position as the largest gold producer, ahead of Newmont Mining Corporation.

History

Founding and early years

Barrick Gold Corporation evolved from a privately held North American oil and gas company,[2] Barrick Resources Corporation.[3] After suffering huge financial losses in oil and gas,[4] principal Peter Munk decided to focus on gold.[5] Barrick Resources Corporation became a publicly traded company on May 2, 1983[6], listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange.[7]

The company’s first acquisition was the Renabie mine, near Wawa, Ontario,[8] which produced around 16,000 ounces of gold in 1984.[9] In 1984, Barrick acquired Camflo Mining,[10] which had operations in the province of Quebec[9] and in the U.S. state of Nevada.[11] Barrick’s effort to purchase was slowed by skepticism the company could assume Camflo’s debt of around $100 million.[12] The sale was finalized in May, 1984, with terms that obligated Barrick to repay the debt to The Royal Bank of Canada within one year.[13] The debt was fully paid in January, 1985.[14]

Barrick Resource’s next acquisition was the Mercur mine in Mercur, Utah in June, 1985,[15] followed by the Goldstrike mine, in Nevada, in 1986.[16] The Goldstrike mine is located on the Carlin Trend, estimated to hold 100,000,000 ounces of gold.[17]

1986 to 2005

The company’s name was changed to American Barrick Resources in 1986.[18] It was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in February, 1987.[19] The name was changed to the present Barrick Gold Corporation in 1995.[20]

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.[21] Two years later, in 1996, Arequipa Resources, owner of properties including the Pierina mine in Peru, accepted a takeover offer from the renamed Barrick Gold Corporation, worth about USD $800,000,000.[22] 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.[23] In 2001 Barrick Gold made another stock deal, worth about USD $2.3 billion, to buy the Homestake Mining Company, then one of the oldest mining companies in the United States.[24] The purchase moved Barrick to second largest gold producer in the world.[24]

Placer Dome acquistion

The company offered USD $9.2 billion for Placer Dome Inc. in a bid announced October 31, 2005.[25] During the following weeks Placer Dome recommended shareholders reject the offer.[26] In December, Placer Dome’s board of directors approved an increased offer worth USD $10.4 billion.[27] The transaction closed in early 2006, making Barrick the world’s largest gold producer.[28]

2006 to present

On July 24, 2006, Barrick announced their intent to purchase NovaGold Resources 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.[29]

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.[30]

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.[31] Recovery rates for silver were below 7%, because the metal is bound within silica, which is difficult to dissolve using conventional cyanidation processing.[31] 1,750 researchers from 43 countries registered as participants with 130 proposals submitted.[32] Nine proposals were selected for testing.[33]

Barrick Gold created the largest stock offering in Canadian history during 2009[34], when it issued a $3 billion dollar equity offering, which was increased the following day to $3.5 billion in response to market demand.[35] Revenue from the offering was used to eliminate the company’s gold hedges, which locked in the sale price of future production, rather than selling it at market prices.[36]

In February, 2010, Barrick Gold announced plans to create a separate company to hold its assets in Tanzania, called African Barrick Gold.[37] Barrick Gold would retain majority ownership in the new company, after its listing on the London Stock Exchange.[37] African Barrick Gold was listed on the London Stock Exchange in mid-March 2010, with an IPO valuation at USD$3.6 billion. [38] The shares offered on the LSE raised just more than 500 million pounds. [39] In June the company was admitted to the FTSE 100 Index. [40]

Environmental impact

Mining practices

Barrick Gold has been accused of a number of environmentally unsound practices by environmental groups.[41][42][43] The company has countered accusations by activists, challenging the accuracy of criticisms.[44] It reported environment-related spending of USD $89 million in 2009.[45]

The Super Pit gold mine
File:P6300561.JPG
Looking down into the Porgera open pit.

Criticisms include poisonous spills of cyanide, mercury and other heavy metals, leading to environmental damage and the poisoning of human populations. Critics object to the use of gold cyanidation in the mine at Lake Cowal and other gold mines, and point to the release of approximately seven tons of mercury during 2004-2005 at the Super Pit gold mine[citation needed] (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.[46] The Lake Cowal Mine was the first mine in the world certified under the International Cyanide Management Code.[47] 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.[48] 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.”[49]

Nineteen of the company’s mines have since been certified under the code, while three Barrick operations do not use cyanide.[50]

Following accusations connected with the Porgera Gold Mine, on January 30, 2009 the company was excluded from The Government Pension Fund of Norway, one of the world's largest Sovereign Wealth Funds. 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.[51]

The fund sold all its stock in the company, worth ca. 245m US$, as a result of these conclusions.[52] 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." [53][54]

The tailings disposal is approved by the government of Papua New Guinea, which monitors to ensure World Health Organization standards for toxicity.[55] Factors including the nature of the topography geochemistry and tectonics 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.”[56][57] Tailings are neutralized before discharge to address residual cyanide and metals.[58] 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.”[59] Some tailings at Porgera mine are managed through paste backfill,[60] a process where tailings are mixed with a binder like cement and pumped into voids under ground to solidify.[61] The Porgera Mine was certified under International Cyanide Management Code following evaluation by an independent third party examiner in November, 2009. [62]

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".[63] They also related stories about "lack of free, prior and informed consent for local people".[63] Barrick is party to a lawsuit originally filed against Placer Dome Inc. by the local government claiming compensation for the 1996 Marcopper Mining Disaster. Barrick Gold inherited the litigation after taking over Placer Dome, Inc.[64]

Through 2009 and into 2010 Barrick Gold’s Cortez Hills project was the subject of litigation in Nevada.[65] Opponents appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, challenging a ruling in the United States District Court for the District of Nevada, which denied the bid to block the project.[66] 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 previous environmental review of water and air pollution impacts “was inadequate under the National Environmental Policy Act” and ordered the District Court to provide “appropriate” injunctive relief while the Bureau of Land Management conducted further study.[67]

In 2008, the company negotiated an agreement with four of five regional Western Shoshone tribes, providing financial resources for education and wellness initiatives, including a long-term scholarship program, allocated at the Tribes’ discretion.[68] A former tribal chairman of the Duck Valley Shoshone spoke of the company as “a pretty progressive entity.”[69] 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.[70][71]

In 2010, Barrick Gold Corporation became the 18th company to join the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights[72] which provides “guidance to extractives companies on maintaining the security of their operations in a manner that respects human rights and fundamental freedoms.”[73] Admission follows an eight step process that requires approval by the Voluntary Principles plenary,[74] the main decision-making body, consisting of all active members, drawn from participating governments, companies and non-governmental organizations.[75] Barrick Gold participates in a number of corporate social responsibility programs, such as the United Nations Global Compact.[76] The company is a signatory to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.[77] It also participates in The Global Reporting Initiative, Business for Social Responsibility [78] and The Global Business Coalition on HIV/Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria.[79] On September 7, 2007, Barrick was added to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.[80] The company is a member of The International Leadership Council (ILC) of The Nature Conservancy.[81] In Papua New Guinea, the Porgera Joint Venture participated in the development of a wildlife conservation area in the Kaijende Highlands. [82] Critics site that this participation in a wildlife refuge is mere greenwash and it is especially insulting as the main demand of the local landowners association is for the resettlement of people away from the mine site to a new area where they can live a subsistence lifestyle.

The Porgera Landowners Association, who own 2.5% of the mine, and the Akali Tange Association, the Porgera-based human rights organization that has been reporting on the abuses near the Porgera Mine since 2003, joined forces in 2008 to become the Porgera Alliance. This coalition traveled to Barrick's Annual General meeting to voice their demands of the company, an have returned every year since.

One of the most well-publicized abuses at the Porgera Mine is the burning of houses near the mine site. Barrick housed police who – based on situation reports from Barrick Gold – burnt down an entire hillside of houses adjacent to their Porgera Mine. Barrick initially denied these allegations, remarking that it was their understanding that 50 temporary shacks were tore down. But, a follow-up Amnesty report, released in January 2010 showed evidence of at least 130 permanent houses burnt down, while villagers were beaten, harassed, and detained.

In Tanzania, there have been two reports confirming lasting negative effects of a toxic spill in Tanzania that occurred last May. The latest report, commissioned by an interfaith committee in Tanzania and written by scientists from Norwegian University if Life Sciences and the University of Dar es Salam, found potential life threatening levels of arsenic around Barrick’s North Mara mine in Tanzania. The study investigated the area around the tailing dam and the site of an accidental spill that occurred on May 9, 2009. Despite that fact that these areas were tested four to seven months after the spill, this study shows that the water remains toxic for human consumption and grazing use. According to Evans Rubara of the Christian Council of Tanzania, "Following the spill in May, 203 people became ill, 43 people died, and 1358 livestock died according to the Ward authorities in North Mara.” Barrick responded to the report criticizing the integrity of the science, to which the authors responded with a detailed defense of their methodology.

Renewable energy

DeWind D8.2 2MW wind turbine[83] at the Veladero mine in San Juan Province, Argentina

In 2007, Barrick Gold installed the world's highest-situated wind turbine at the Veladero mine in San Juan Province (Argentina) at nearly 4,200m elevation.[84][83]

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.[85][86] In Nevada, Barrick operates a 1-megawatt solar panel farm.[87] There are also plans to build a 9-turbine wind farm at the Golden Sunlight mine in Montana when the operation closes.[88]

Pascua Lama project

Main article: Pascua Lama

Pascua Lama 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.[89][90] A decision to move forward with the project was deferred while sectoral permits were finalized for activity like road construction [91] and taxation agreements between Chile and Argentina were negotiated by the two countries.[92] In May, 2009 it was announced the project would proceed to construction.[93]

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.[94]

The original scope of the ore body lay partially under two small glaciers which eventually feed glacial meltwater into the rivers of the Huasco Province. Environmental reviews took place over more than two years[95] and government authorities imposed 400 conditions on the company in order to mine.[96] As a consequence, more than one million ounces of gold at the site will not be mined.[97] 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. [98] 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.[99]

In a Chilean court case over title ownership between Barrick Gold and a mining trustee named Rodolfo Villar, employee of the alleged owner Jorge Lopehandia, there was a verdict passed down declaring that Lopehandia was the rightful owner of the mining claims that comprise the Pascua Llama project. Barrick Gold proceeded to sue the Judge claiming that the Judge was biased, and therefor the Judgement should be overturned. This case was elevated to the Chilean supreme court level where it was declared that the Judge's decision was the correct one.[100]

The Pascua Lama project is also plagued by a lawsuit by the Diaguita Huascoaltinos Indigenous community against the Chilean state, recently admitted by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Their claim states that the government not only violated the Diaguita's Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC), but they also did not consider comments submitted by their community in the Environmental Assessment Process of the Mine. The claim also states that Barrick's claim to land on and near the Pascua Lama project on the border of Chile and Argentina relies on a series of fraudulent land claims to collectively held-Diaguita Huascoaltinos land. The Diaguita Huascoaltinos also initiated two lawsuits against Barrick in Chile, seeking to slow down and stop Barrick's mining and exploration on their land.

In February 2010 lawyers for Barrick Gold threatened to sue the Canadian publisher Talonbooks 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 [101]. 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.[102] 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.”’ [103]

Production

Gold production

Recent gold production figures for the company's mines were (ounces per annum):[104]

Mine Country 2007 2008 2009 2010
Bald Mountain Gold Mine United States United States 75,000
Bulyanhulu Gold Mine Tanzania Tanzania 249,000
Buzwagi Gold Mine Tanzania Tanzania 189,000
Cortez Gold Mine United States United States 518,000
Cowal Gold Mine Australia Australia 233,000
Darlot-Centenary Gold Mine Australia Australia 120,000 see Yilgarn South
Golden Sunlight Gold Mine United States United States 28,000
Goldstrike Gold Mine United States United States 1,360,000
Granny Smith Gold Mine Australia Australia 175,000 see Yilgarn South
Hemlo Gold Mine Canada Canada 275,000
Kanowna Belle Gold Mine Australia Australia 362,000 267,000 284,000
Lagunas Norte Gold Mine Peru Peru 1,000,000
Lawlers Gold Mine Australia Australia 115,000 see Yilgarn South
Marigold Gold Mine 1 United States United States 49,000
North Mara Gold Mine Tanzania Tanzania 212,000
Osborne Mine Australia Australia 43,000
Pierina Gold Mine Peru Peru 271,000
Plutonic Gold Mine Australia Australia 208,000 127,000 144,000
Porgera Gold Mine 6 Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea 551,000
Round Mountain Gold Mine 2 United States United States 209,000
Ruby Hill Gold Mine United States United States 104,000
Super Pit Gold Mine 5 Australia Australia 314,000 307,000 345,000
Turquoise Ridge Gold Mine 3 United States United States 133,000
Tulawaka Gold Mine 4 Tanzania Tanzania 66,000
Veladero Gold Mine Argentina Argentina 611,000
Yilgarn South 7 Australia Australia N/A 325,000 352,000
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.

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 91,000,000
Zaldívar Copper Mine Chile Chile 302,000,000
Overall World 393,000,000

See also

References

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  • Rohmer, Richard (1997). Golden Phoenix (The biography of Peter Munk”). Toronto:Key Porter Books. ISBN 1-55013-912-6


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