download a PDF version of Beyond Borders - Barrick Gold Corporation

More documents

Recommendations

Info

WOMEN FROM THE PIERINA COMMUNITY SELL LOCALLY PRODUCEDMARMALADES AND CAKES AT A FAIR TO BOOST FAMILY INCOMES.TRAINING SESSIONS FOR FARMERS IN PERU ARE GUIDED BY “YACHACHIQS”,A QUECHUA WORD THAT MEANS “THE ONE WHO KNOWS AND TRANSMITSKNOWLEDGE.” THE YACHACHIQS ARE FARMERS THEMSELVES, TEACHING FAMILIESHOW TO APPLY IMPROVED AGRICULTURAL METHODS.Munoz said. She says the entire community has benefitted fromthe presence of the mine, and points to infrastructure as oneexample. “Thanks to the company, today there are roads in thistown.”Other local residents who run businesses, from sign paintingshops to audio-visual production houses, say they have alsobeen helped by having a thriving mining operation in theregion. “Our company was created and started up because ofBarrick,” says Pedro Ponte, a 33-year old entrepreneur. He liveswith his wife and two children in the city of San Juan. “Weprovide transportation to the workers going up to the mine,” hesaid. “We now have approximately 220 employees.”THE PIERINA MINE IN PERU TRANSFORMS COMMUNITIESArgentina isn’t the only South American country getting aneconomic boost from Barrick’s mines. A second ConsultoraMalthus report also assessed the economic impact of Barrick’sPierina mine, which is located on the Peruvian side of the Andes.The study concluded that by almost any yardstick – beit literacy rates, levels of poverty, households with potabledrinking water, or even colour TV – life has markedly improvedfor residents of the surrounding districts of Independencia andJangas since the Pierina mine opened.Pierina is situated about 10 kilometres northwest of the cityof Huaraz in the Ancash region of north-central Peru. Theopen-pit mine began producing in 1998, with output peakingat approximately 900,000 ounces of gold per year from 2001to 2003.According to the Consultora Malthus report Barrick investedapproximately $850 million between 1996 and 2009 to build andoperate Pierina, which directly employs 500 people and another1,900 indirectly through the purchase of locally produced goodsand services. These are significant numbers in an area where largeportions of the population get by through subsistence farming.The district of Jangas is located closest to Pierina and isVeladero Mine – Argentina·Accounts for 23% of San Juan’s gross domestic product38% increase in regional employment·Numbers that speakPOSITIVE ECONOMIC IMPACTOF BARRICK’S VELADERO AND PIERINA MINESPierina Mine – PeruPoverty rate in Jangas reduced from 80% to 31% (1993-2007)Local literacy rates increased from 55% to 76%Consultora Malthus Independent Studies28
A YACHACHIQ GUIDE DEMONSTRATES FARMING TECHNIQUES INTHE CAHUIDE COMMUNITY.AWARD-WINNING PROJECT HELPS FARMERS IN PERUhome to about 4,000 people. The study noted a dramatic declinein the community’s poverty rate from 80 per cent to 31 per centbetween 1993 and 2007. Illiteracy rates also declined, droppingfrom a startling 56 per cent in 1993 to 31 per cent by 2007. Eventhe rate of higher education improved. A mere one per cent ofpeople in Jangas had completed education beyond high schoolin 1993, but the figure had risen to six per cent by 2007.While more urbanized than its neighbours, the peopleof Independencia also saw a marked improvement in livingconditions during this same period. Urbanization increasedfrom 67 per cent to 89 per cent and the poverty rate fell from57 to 31 per cent. Illiteracy rates also dropped in the districtfrom 36 per cent to 24 per cent. The number of those pursuing ahigher education nearly doubled, going from nine to 17 per cent– well above the national average of 13 per cent.The improvement in living conditions was in sharp contrastto the rest of the country. By 2007, 40 per cent of Peruvians fellbelow the poverty line.POPULATION IN POVERTY CONDITIONS 1993 – 2007ACCORDING TO BASIC UNMET NEEDS IN PERU0.80.70.60.50.40.30.20.101993 2007 1993 2007Independencia district Jangas districtIn Peru, Barrick has partnered with the FarmingAlternative Institute to implement the ProductiveHighlands Program, which is helping farmers deal withthe challenges of farming more than 4,000 metresabove sea level.The community of Cahuide, in the province ofSantiago de Chuco, relies heavily on rainfall for theirrigation of its land. The Productive Highlands Programhas been teaching these Peruvian farmers how to usenew farming technologies and water conservation toincrease productivity.More than 210 families are now taking advantage ofan irrigation system that features reservoirs that allowfarmers to collect and store water all year round. Newirrigation practices are just one part of the positivechanges underway. Simple technologies like organicfertilizers and a water-purifying system, combinedwith strong community buy-in and participation, aregarnering impressive results.One year after the Highlands Project began, thepeople of the nine hamlets of Cahuide are producingfarming and livestock products they can sell in themarketplace, vastly improving their livelihoods. Theproject is also being implemented in other communitiesin the province.The Productive Highlands Program was recentlyrecognized as the first runner-up in the BBC’s corporatesocial responsibility World Challenge Competition.March 2011 29
Page 14: A BARRICK GOLD REPORT ON RESPONSIBL
Page 17 and 18: BEYOND BORDERS | A BARRICK GOLD REP
Page 19 and 20: SUN-DRIED TOMATOES NOWBIG BUSINESS
Page 27: THE CONSULTORA MALTHUS STUDY REPORT
Page 34 and 35: A BARRICK GOLD REPORT ON RESPONSIBL
Page 40: In 2009, Barrick helped launch a su

download a PDF version of Beyond Borders - Barrick Gold Corporation

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?