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

Barrick’s goal is to minimize our environmental footprint and safeguard the land, air, water andwildlife wherever we operate. We are guided in this endeavor by our Environmental Policy Statement.Environmental Management Systems (EMS) at each of our operations help us achieve the goals ofprotection and stewardship, and performance indicators help us measure how well we are doing.A global Environmental Management System Standard which applies to all Barrick operations ensuresthat the EMS at each site is robust and includes advanced planning against possible future events.This section of the Responsibility Report provides information on our 2007 environmentalperformance. For more information on our management approach and additional environmentalstatistics, please see www.barrick.com/CorporateResponsibility.We recognize that there may be impacts to the existing natural environment, both temporary and long-lasting, due to the presenceof our mining operations. As a result, we use a precautionary approach throughout the life of a mine by first assessing potentialimpacts, then evaluating how to avoid, control or mitigate these impacts.2007 PERFORMANCEOne of our goals is to operate in full compliance with all environmental regulatory requirementsand permits. In 2007 this goal was principally achieved. Any written directive from aregulatory agency is considered to be a regulatory action. In 2007 we received 48 regulatoryactions globally and two fines. Our Cortez operation in Nevada received two Notices ofViolation and a $1,250 fine for failing to notify the State prior to source testing of a singleair emissions point and for failure to provide timely sampling data as part of the sourcetesting report. Our KCGM operation in Australia received a fine of $21,250 in 2007 relatedto an air emissions incident that occurred in 2005.(above) Barrick is focusing oninnovative energy strategies(see page 33).There were 14 water permit incidents at six sites during 2007 resulting from detection ofelevated constituents in treated mine water. Most incidents related to pH outside the permittedrange and total dissolved solids higher than permitted levels. These were short-termexceedences and were addressed to the satisfaction of the permitting authorities. Therewere 23 air emission permit exceedences at three sites in Nevada in 2007. The exceedenceswere short-term in nature and corrective actions were taken. Neither the water incidentsnor the emission exceedences resulted in fines.We have controls in place at all our operations to protect the environment from chemicalsand fuels. These controls include spill containment, meters, alarms and regular inspections.While some spillage is inevitable, most spills are contained on-site and within primaryor secondary containment. In 2007, 20 spills escaped secondary containment, but wereBarrick Responsibility Report 2007 29