The primacy of partnership
Most companies say that partnership is important to their business. At Barrick, we mean it. Our ability to form and maintain partnerships is just as important to our success as our geological know-how or engineering expertise.
Our approach to partnership is epitomized by the CDC model which we use at each mine. Grounded in the belief that no one knows the needs of local communities better than the communities themselves, the role of the CDC is to allocate the community development and investment budget to those initiatives most desired by the local community.
CDC members are elected and comprise a mix of local leaders (such as village chiefs or mayors), community members and representatives of women and youth groups, as well as a representative from Barrick – though we have just one seat at the table. While self-directed, the CDC model is underpinned and guided by the following core principles:
Priority-based Budgets
The community investment budget for each mine is informed by community priorities rather than based on mine production levels.
Five Investment Focus Areas
Projects and initiatives approved by any CDC fall within our five focused sustainable development categories: Education; Health; Food; Water; and Local Economic Development.
Self-Sustaining
Any project should aim to be sustainable and self-sufficient over the long term.
Deliver Benefit to Operations
Projects should also return some benefit to our mines. For example, investments in anti-malaria programs in the community not only strive to eliminate the scourge of malaria from our host communities in sub-Saharan Africa but also help to reduce worker absenteeism, up to 25% of which is attributable to malaria.
Third Party Involvement
Wherever possible we partner with public and private sector specialists to maximize community development and align with regional and national government development plans. This helps to drive additional investment, add scale to projects and multiply the positive impacts.
Following the merger with Randgold at the start of 2019, we set a group target for all operational sites to have a CDC in place by the end of 2020, and this was achieved by the middle of the year.
Investment Themes
Education
At NGM, we entered a two-year partnership with the Nevada Department of Education and Discover Education to bring high-quality online education content to students across Nevada. This included a $2.2 million investment alongside the Nevada Department of Education to provide students, educators and families access to Discover Education's instructional resources.
Access to Health Care
Despite the Porgera mine being in care and maintenance since April 2020, we continued to provide support to the Paiam hospital near the Porgera Joint Venture in Papua New Guinea, following our significant investment in 2019 to rehabilitate the hospital. Paiam hospital is the only recognized teritary-level healthcare facility in the Porgera Valley Region and treats approximately 2,000 patients each day.
Food Security
At the North Mara mine in Tanzania, the CDC has continued to support the development and expansion of the Kemanyanki poultry project. The project was estabslihed in 2019 and is run by the local youth association, supplying eggs to the North Mara mine and the local community.
Near the Veladero mine in Argentina, we continued to work with the catering contractor ARAMARK to promote and increase local agricultural production during 2020. This included providing local communities with a vegetable washing and drying tunnel machine. The washing tunnel increases the number of vegetables local producers are able to sell to market.
Water
In 2020, nine community water sources were built and equiped for communities near the Loulo-Gounkoto Complex in Mali, and a further 10 for communities near Kibali in the DRC. In Tanzania at Buzwagi, equipment was provided for a water reticulation system at the Mwendakulima health centre, while work commenced on the building for a major water supply system for the village of Tongon in Côte d'Ivoire. This project is expected to be completed in 2021. In Argentina near the Veladero mine, two new drinking water plants were constructed in the towns of Las Flores and Rodeo.
Local Economic Development
In Argentina near the Veladero mine, we supported a number of business incubator programs for local entrepreneurs. These programs provide attendees with training on business operations and standards. Businesses that benefited include the San Cayetano Bakery, a bakery run by a collective of local housewives, and Iglesian Furniture, a family owned custom furniture builder. Economic development and support also underpinned our response to Covid-19 — for example at Hemlo, we provied our employees with 'Chamber Checks' which are vouchers that can be redeemed at local shops and restaurants.
Establishing CDCs at North Mara and Pueblo Viejo
We resolutely believe that no one knows the needs of local communities better than those communities themselves. That is why at each of our operational sites, we have established CDCs with the local community. It was a model we developed, tested and have realized significant two-way benefits from over 25 years working in Africa at legacy Randgold.
That success in delivering robust community relations is also why implementing a CDC at North Mara was one of our highest priorities when we acquired the minority shareholder interest in the former Acacia Mining plc in September 2019. When we assumed operational control of North Mara, it had a legacy of extremely strained relations with the local community, evidenced by more than 80 unresolved community grievances, some of which were a number of years old.
By the end of 2019, we had established a CDC at North Mara and a year later, while still in its infancy, it has helped to drive improved community relations. In terms of economic development and opportunity creation, the CDC has funded a poultry farming project run by the local youth association. The project now supplies eggs to the mine, delivering vital additional income to the community.
Similarly, at our Pueblo Viejo mine in the Dominican Republic, we introduced CDCs for three communities near the mine in 2020. As part of the establishment process, each CDC signed a Charter which sets out the role and responsibilities of the CDC for the delivery of community development programs and projects. The Charter is based on principles of shared responsibility and lays the groundwork for strengthened community relations and partnership going forward.
"This step of forming Community Development Committees will create the conditions for initiating true development of Zambrana communities, especially in those communities near the mine,” says Maxima Ant. Rosa Vasquez, President of CDC - Zambrana Down, one of the CDCs for the Pueblo Viejo mine.

North Mara General Manager Luiz Correia inspects the Kemanyanki Group Poultry Farm which supplies eggs to the mine and local community. The farm was one of the first community projects born from the North Mara CDC and is run by the local youth council. This photo was taken before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Tackling the scourge of malaria and HIV
Diseases such as malaria and HIV can hamper the social and economic development of our host communities, particularly in the remote parts of sub-Saharan Africa where we have a number of operations. These illnesses can also negatively impact our operations. Malaria, for example, can account for as much as 25% of all worker absences in Africa. Working to reduce and eliminate these diseases from our communities is therefore not only an important part of our community health strategy, but it also delivers benefits to the business.
Our African operations where malaria and HIV are endemic have focused prevention programs in place. The anti-malaria program includes distributing insecticide impregnated mosquito nets, indoor residual spraying and larvaciding on site and within a 10km radius of each of our mines, providing insect repellent to night shift workers and prophylactic medication during the high transmission season.
We also work to educate workers and emphasize behaviour change to avoid mosquito bites and minimize breeding sites. In total, we spent more than $900,000 on anti-malaria initiatives in 2020. We monitor the success of the program by tracking our malaria incidence rate and have a target to reduce malaria incidence by 5% year on year. In 2020, this was 18.01% compared to 19.23% in 2019, and we achieved our performance target for the year.
To protect our communities and workers from HIV/AIDS, we aim to partner with expert NGOs at each of our mines in Africa. The aim of these partnerships is to raise community awareness and provide access to voluntary counselling and testing (VCT), as well as treatments and monitoring. We aim to increase the number of VCTs we conduct each year. As part of our HIV/AIDS program in 2020, we distributed 482,471 free condoms and our clinics provided 11,833 free VCTs.
Our program is aligned to the UNAIDS Fast-Track Strategy, which aims to reduce new HIV infections and AIDS related deaths by 90% by 2030, compared to a 2010 baseline. The strategy is underpinned by ensuring that 90% of employees are aware of their HIV status, 90% of those positive are under HIV treatment, and 90% of those under treatment have viral suppression.

The indoor spraying team at Bulyanhulu gold mine. Barrick has rolled out an effective malaria prophylactic campaign
to its assets in Tanzania, following our acquisition of the minority shareholder interest in Acacia in September 2019.
During 2020, we invested over $26 million in community development projects at our mines. We track our community development spend to ensure that the communities closest to our operations receive their rightful share of the benefits from our presence in their community and the development of their national resource.
Nevada’s I-80 Fund offers financial lifeline to local businesses
Like many parts of the world, the local economy surrounding NGM was hit hard by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Long-standing community businesses from beauty salons to builders faced devastating impacts and the threat of closure.
In response, NGM launched several initiatives, including the innovative I-80 Fund. Beginning in July, this program provided vital support through low-interest small business loans, with the ultimate goal of easing the burden on NGM’s host communities until the economy reopened. The Fund offered the chance to rebuild, and even strengthen, the local economy in the wake of the pandemic. Businesses like popular ice cream parlour Sacha’s Sugar Shack in Eureka have said the support is a lifeline. “My business was just getting on its feet when Covid-19 hit, and we were shut down. The loan from the I-80 Fund made it possible for me to keep my business. If not for this Fund, I would’ve had to close my doors permanently,” says Sacha’s Sugar Shack owner Sacha Olson.
A partnership approach is central to the Fund. The loans are administered through the Rural Nevada Development Corporation (RNDC) non-profit with NGM providing a $5 million starting investment. Other industry partners, such as the NV Energy Foundation, Cyanco and Small Mine Development have also contributed.
The intention of the I-80 Fund is twofold. Initially, it focused on disaster relief and recovery loans for established small businesses impacted by Covid-19, with loans ranging from $5,000 to $100,000, and a low 2% interest rate. Currently, the program has moved into its second phase, whereby the Fund will now be used for small business development loans, which will help stimulate and support economic long term growth across northern Nevada.
Following its launch in July, the I-80 Fund approved a total of 15 loan applications in 2020 worth over $1.5 million. These included support for a diverse set of local businesses ranging from those in education to fitness and car washing.
“We want to see our communities and the State of Nevada not only recover from these challenging times, but come out of this crisis stronger than before,” said Greg Walker, NGM Executive Managing Director.
Barrick has previous experience in facilitating microfinance loans across emerging markets, and during 2020, we set up similar Covid-19 support funds in the DRC and in Latin America.
Chamber checks
In addition to the I-80 Fund, NGM has offered other financial stimuli to local communities on top of maintaining its usual community investment program. In April 2020, NGM issued each of its 7,000+ employees $150 in Chamber Checks. Chamber Checks are notes issued by local Chambers of Commerce, redeemable at member businesses in the same way a gift certificate would be.
The program provided $1.1 million of financial stimulus to local businesses in northern Nevada.

Sacha’s Sugar Shack, an ice cream/deli shop in Eureka, Nevada,
was a beneficiary of the I-80 Fund launched by NGM to financially
assist local businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns.