Mandate of the Board of Directors
Mandate
The Board of Directors (the “Board”) is responsible for the stewardship of Barrick Gold Corporation (the “Company”) and for the supervision of the management of the business and affairs of the Company.
Directors shall exercise their business judgment in a manner consistent with their fiduciary duties. In particular, directors are required to act honestly and in good faith, with a view to the best interests of the Company and to exercise the care, diligence and skill that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in comparable circumstances.
Responsibilities
The Board discharges its responsibility for supervising the management of the business and affairs of the Company by delegating the day-to-day management of the Company to senior officers. The Board relies on senior officers to keep it apprised of all significant developments affecting the Company and its operations.
The Board discharges its responsibilities directly and through delegation to its Committees.
The Board’s responsibilities shall include:
Oversight of Management
- Through the Compensation Committee, adopting a succession planning process and participating in the selection, appointment, development, evaluation and compensation of the Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and other senior officers.
- Through the actions of the Board and its individual directors and through Board’s interaction with and expectations of senior officers, promoting a culture of integrity throughout the Company consistent with the Company’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, taking appropriate steps to, to the extent feasible, satisfy itself as to the integrity of the CEO and other executive officers of the Company, and that the CEO and other executive officers create a culture of integrity throughout the Company.
- Periodically reviewing and approving any significant changes to the Company’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics.
- Developing and approving position descriptions for each of the Chairman of the Board, CEO and the Chairperson of each Board Committee, and measuring the performance of those acting in such capacities against such position descriptions.
Financial and Risk Matters
- Overseeing the reliability and integrity of accounting principles and practices followed by management, of the financial statements and other publicly reported financial information, and of the disclosure principles and practices followed by management.
- Overseeing the integrity of the Company’s internal controls and management information systems by adopting appropriate internal and external audit and control systems.
- Reviewing and approving an annual operating budget for the Company and its subsidiaries on a consolidated basis and monitoring the Company’s performance against such budget.
- Approving annual and, either directly or through the Audit Committee, quarterly financial statements and the release thereof by management.
- Reviewing and discussing with management the processes utilized by management with respect to risk assessment and risk management, including for the identification by management of the principal risks of the business of the Company, including financial risks, and the implementation by management of appropriate systems to deal with such risks.
Business Strategy
- Adopting a strategic planning process pursuant to which management develops and proposes, and the Board reviews and approves, significant corporate strategies and objectives, taking into account the opportunities and risks of the business.
- Reviewing and approving all major acquisitions, dispositions and investments and all significant financings and other significant matters outside the ordinary course of the Company’s business.
- Reviewing management’s implementation of appropriate community and environmental stewardship and health and safety management systems, taking into consideration applicable laws, Company policies and accepted practices in the mining industry.
Communications and Reporting
- Overseeing the Company’s continuous disclosure program with a view to satisfying itself that material information is disseminated in a timely fashion.
- Periodically reviewing and approving any significant changes to the Company’s Disclosure Policy.
- Adopting a process to enable shareholders to communicate directly with the Lead Director or with the Chairman of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee.
Corporate Governance
- Overseeing the development of the Company’s approach to corporate governance, including reviewing and approving changes to the Company’s Corporate Governance Guidelines, which Guidelines shall set out the expectations of directors, including basic duties and responsibilities with respect to attendance at Board meetings and advance review of meeting materials.
- Taking appropriate steps to remain informed about the Board’s duties and responsibilities and about the business and operations of the Company.
- Ensuring that the Board receives from senior officers the information and input required to enable the Board to effectively perform its duties.
- Overseeing, through the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee, the review of the effectiveness of the Board, its Committees and individual directors on an annual basis.
Board Organization
- Overseeing, through the Corporate Governance and Nominating
- Establishing committees of the Board and delegating certain Board responsibilities to these committees, consistent with the Company’s Corporate Governance Guidelines.