2007 Responsibility Report - English (PDF) - Barrick Gold Corporation

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Barrick and Communitieslocal and regional suppliers, capacity building activities (seebelow) and charitable donations. In 2007, Barrick contributedover $6 billion to the local and regional economies of our hostcountries.Capacity BuildingFor Barrick, capacity building activities are tailored to localneeds and include infrastructure development (building roads,power sources, schools, medical clinics, water wells, etc.)apprenticeship programs, support for community initiatives,training and education opportunities and scholarships for communitymembers.For example, activities in 2007 included construction of primaryand secondary schools near our Tulawaka and Bulyanhulumines in Tanzania and near our Pierina mine in Peru. We alsotrained representatives from five communities neighboringLagunas Norte to participate in water monitoring activities onthe Perejil and Chuyuhual Rivers near the mine. At Bulyanhulu,Barrick is working in partnership with our catering servicesprovider, Sodexho, enabling over 100 local farmers to tap intothe demand for fresh produce at the mine. This local procurementprogram is enabling villages in the area that once existedon subsistence farming activities to generate as much as$50,000 per year in income. In Chile, Barrick continued to offertraining courses and workshops in the Huasco Valley to givelocal residents the skills they will need to work at Pascua-Lamaor in a related industry. To date, more than 3,500 people haveparticipated in courses ranging from basic industrial knowledge,to skilled trades, construction and local crafts. Also inAlanna RondiExecutive Director, AMREF Canada”Rooted in our shared values andcommitment to the health of mineworkers and communities, AMREFand Barrick’s partnership extendsfrom field staff to the highestlevels of corporate management.Bringing together diversestrengths, we work respectfully, productively and in a transparentmanner to address the unmet health needs of thecommunities in which we work. AMREF looks forward toexpanding our partnership to provide better access to healthfor mine workers, their families and communities acrossBarrick’s operations in Tanzania.“2007, at our North Mara mine in Tanzania, we began constructionof a 350 kilometer power line which will supply powerto our mine and to 67,000 community residents. We spent$2.5 million on road maintenance and construction near ourPorgera mine in Papua New Guinea.Artisanal and Small-Scale MiningMillions of people around the world maintain their livelihoodsthrough artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). The individualsand groups engaged in ASM near our operations are keystakeholders and we actively engage, learn from and providesupport to them.For example, in late 2007, in collaboration with the governmentof Tanzania, Barrick initiated a comprehensive program toassist the artisanal and small scale miners near our North Maramine. The first stages involved extensive consultation with theASM groups in order to understand the complexities of theirorganization, management and working methods. An externalexpert in the field of ASM was hired to ensure the programdesign incorporated lessons from other experiences in theASM sector. The first phase of the program will facilitate andstrengthen the formation of “ASM cooperatives” in order foractivities to be more efficient and effective. Training programsare due to start in 2008 and will focus on topics includinghealth and safety, working conditions, environmental concerns(especially the use of mercury), and technology and managementtraining. An additional focus of the program will be theeradication of child labor in small scale mining.In Papua New Guinea (PNG), where there is also a concentrationof artisanal miners near our operations, we are working incollaboration with the PNG government and local communitiesto establish programs which enhance the income-generatingpotential of artisanal mining or provide alternative livelihoodoptions. For example, our Porgera mine has partnered with aPNG vegetable marketing cooperative, Alele, to help re-establishlivelihoods in the highlands potato industry.Illegal Mining ActivitiesMany mining operations in developing countries are located inremote, often marginalized areas where poverty and unemploymentrates are high. While the potential benefits to a region aresignificant, a challenging issue facing mining companies operatingin this environment is illegal mining activities and trespassing.Illegal miners enter mine property without permission with theintention of stealing gold-bearing ore. The level of criminalityand violent behavior often displayed by illegal miners canthreaten both the local community and Barrick employees, thevast majority of whom are also from local communities.14 Barrick Responsibility Report 2007
Barrick brought together a multi-disciplinary working groupin 2007 which developed strategic guidelines focused onaddressing this important issue in a holistic manner, by takinginto account the root causes of illegal mining. The maincomponents of the strategy include government liaison, stakeholdercommunication, security and community developmentprojects to address the root causes of the problem. We willcontinue to strive to manage the issue of illegal mining in orderto improve the safety of the local communities, the Company,our employees and the illegal miners themselves.ResettlementBarrick works together with host governments to manage, ina manner consistent with local laws and international bestpractice, the resettlement of people that may be affected byour planned operations. Engagement of affected communitiesis the cornerstone of Barrick’s commitment and the key tosuccessful resettlement programs.At the Buzwagi development project in Tanzania, a comprehensiveresettlement program, covering approximately twohundredhouseholds, was initiated in 2007 and will continueinto 2008. Upgraded family dwellings (designed in consultationwith the community) have been constructed, most of which arewithin the boundaries of the original villages. Two schools havealso been upgraded and over fifty community water wells havebeen deepened and improved. The house-building and otherconstruction projects draw heavily on the use of local labor andprovide a substantial source of income for the local populationin an area of very high unemployment.Plans for a government-led resettlement program in theDominican Republic were also finalized in 2007 in consultationwith the affected local communities. Of note was the successin resolving, through an extensive negotiation process withthe government and community members, a series of longstandinghistorical grievances in one community related toresettlement by the previous owners of the Pueblo Viejo site.Instrumental at both sites was the work of multi-stakeholderresettlement working groups which have steered the processand attained a high level of participation and support withinthe communities.From Philanthropy to Participationin TanzaniaHistorically there are many companies that have beengenerous in making donations to communities and Barrickis no exception. However in the developing countrieswhere we operate, our Community Relations Teams arelooking beyond philanthropy and determining new andinnovative ways to proactively engage local communitymembers, governments, and other stakeholders in communitydevelopment initiatives. This participatory developmentincreases a community’s sense of ownership in theinitiatives and leads to community capacity building.Even before work gets started on community projects,planning is a collective effort. For example, at all of ouroperational sites in Tanzania, our on-site CommunityRelations Teams work with local villages on participatorydevelopment planning. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)methods are being used to assist communities in identifyingdevelopment priorities and, more importantly, in developingcollective solutions. Notably, this approach ensuresthat the community develops initiatives that are not relianton extensive, ongoing funding from Barrick and that buildlasting capabilities where they are much needed.A typical example is the Mwenda Kulima ward communityin which community members, the District Council andBarrick’s Buzwagi project are jointly constructing a secondaryschool. A memorandum of understanding was developed,stipulating each party’s responsibilities and agreed upon byall. Barrick Buzwagi is providing all construction materialsand technical supervision, the District Council is supplyingfurniture, while the Mwenda Kulima community providesthe labor. This type of partnership not only provides for acommunity facility and community ownership; but alsohelps in skills development and a heightened awareness ofsafety among community members who work together withthe skilled and safety conscious Barrick team.This type of participatory development is vital in makingcertain that development initiatives are owned by thecommunities and local government, and that communityresidents are not reliant on cash donations from a companythat will one day close its facility and leave the area.We want to leave a lasting positive legacy wherever weoperate, and while donated buildings and other infrastructureprovide the basics, what we really hope is that ouroutreach activities can empower people and strengthencapacities for self-driven sustainable development.Barrick Responsibility Report 2007 15
Page 1: BarrickResponsibilityReport 2007
Page 8: 25 Years of Responsible MiningA Cul
Page 11 and 12: operation of the Company. In 2007,
Page 13 and 14: Active and genuine engagement with
Page 15: For example, we recently opened a n
Page 19 and 20: COWAL MINE:A Study in Sustainable D
Page 21 and 22: understanding about how agriculture
Page 23 and 24: Attracting, retaining, motivating a
Page 25 and 26: WORK-LIFE BALANCETo retain high-qua
Page 27 and 28: Improving safety and health perform
Page 29 and 30: Barrick Health SystemOver the last
Page 31 and 32: Barrick’s goal is to minimize our
Page 33 and 34: are audited, in general, every two
Page 35 and 36: GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS INTENSITY(
Page 37 and 38: OFF-SITE SPILLS:Operation Substance
Page 39 and 40: About Barrick Gold CorporationBarri

2007 Responsibility Report - English (PDF) - Barrick Gold Corporation

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