The Africa & Middle East region converted a net of 2.4 million ouncesPlease see page 141 of the annual report for corresponding endnotes. to attributable proven and probable reserves in 2022, before depletion, with contributions from Kibali, Loulo-Gounkoto, North Mara, Bulyanhulu and Tongon. At Loulo-Gounkoto, this was principally from extensions at the Yalea and Gara underground mines as well as the Faraba open pit replacing annual depletion. At Kibali, the completion of an updated underground feasibility study on the 11000 lode in KCD underground delivered a 0.62 million ouncePlease see page 141 of the annual report for corresponding endnotes. increase in attributable proven and probable reserves before depletion. At North Mara, a focus on underground expansion at Gokona has successfully delivered a 0.44 million ouncei increase in attributable proven and probable reserves before depletion.
The Latin America & Asia Pacific region converted a net of 7.3 million ouncesPlease see page 141 of the annual report for corresponding endnotes. to attributable proven and probable reserves. Most notably, Pueblo Viejo completed a pre-feasibility study for the new Naranjo TSF, adding 6.5 million ouncesPlease see page 141 of the annual report for corresponding endnotes. of attributable proven and probable reserves, net of depletion, and extending the mine life beyond 2040.Refer to the Technical Report on the Pueblo Viejo Mine, Dominican
Republic, dated March 17, 2023 and filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com
and EDGAR at www.sec.gov on March 17, 2023.
The North America region converted a net of 1.8 million ouncesPlease see page 141 of the annual report for corresponding endnotes. to attributable proven and probable reserves, before depletion. This was primarily driven by the completion of pre-feasibility studies for the Robertson open pit project at Cortez, as well as a new pushback in the Hemlo open pit. As a result, Robertson’s maiden attributable proven and probable gold reserves are estimated at 1.0 million ouncesi at 0.46g/t. This represents a milestone for Cortez as a key source of oxide mill feed in the mine plan. Similarly, the new Hemlo open pit pushback is expected to start in 2027 adding 0.86 million ouncesPlease see page 141 of the annual report for corresponding endnotes. of gold at 1.49g/t to probable reserves. Proven and probable attributable reserves for the region are now estimated at 31 million ouncesPlease see page 141 of the annual report for corresponding endnotes. at 2.54g/t.
Our strategy of investing in organic growth through exploration and mineral resource management, as well as our focus on quality assets, continues to deliver successive reserve growth over and above annual depletion as demonstrated with the successful exploration at both the Lumwana and Jabal Sayid mines, which were the primary drivers in the growth of attributable proven and probable copper reserves. As a result, Barrick replaced 103% of annual global depletion at consistent quality, effectively maintaining attributable proven and probable copper mineral reserves of 12 billion poundsPlease see page 141 of the annual report for corresponding endnotes. at 0.38% in 2022, notwithstanding an increase in the annual reserve price assumption to $3.00/lb. For Barrick-operated assets, copper mineral reserves for 2022 are estimated using a copper price of $3.00/lb relative to $2.75/lb in 2021.
The growth in total attributable gold mineral resources of nearly 10% relative to 2021 and of total attributable copper mineral resources which more than doubled growing by 124% year on year, both net of annual depletion, underpins the future growth of our production profile. This was driven by the successful completion of a preliminary economic assessment supporting the Lumwana Super Pit expansion, and the incorporation of Reko Diq following the reconstitution of the project in December 2022. Attributable measured and indicated gold resources for 2022 stand at 180 million ouncesPlease see page 141 of the annual report for corresponding endnotes. at 1.07g/t, with a further 42 million ouncesPlease see page 141 of the annual report for corresponding endnotes. at 0.8g/t of inferred resources. Attributable measured and indicated copper resources for 2022 stand at 44 billion poundsi at 0.39%, with a further 15 billion poundsPlease see page 141 of the annual report for corresponding endnotes. at 0.4% of inferred resources.
In 2022, all mineral resources were estimated using a gold price assumption of $1,700 per ounce and a copper price of $3.75 per pound, both up from $1,500 per ounce for gold and $3.50 per pound for copper in 2021 for Barrick-operated assets. Barrick’s mineral resources for 2022 continue to be reported on an inclusive basis, incorporating all areas that form mineral reserves. All open-pit mineral resources are contained within a Whittle shell, while all underground mineral resources are contained within optimized mineable shapes.
In the Africa and Middle East region, the Lumwana copper mineral resource base grew by 89%, net of depletion, relative to 2021, demonstrating strong potential as a Tier One copper asset and providing a robust basis for the ongoing pre-feasibility study. The reconstitution of the Reko Diq project added an attributable 18 billion poundsPlease see page 141 of the annual report for corresponding endnotes. of copper at 0.44% with 15 million ouncesPlease see page 141 of the annual report for corresponding endnotes. of gold at 0.26g/t to indicated resources, and an attributable 4.6 billion poundsPlease see page 141 of the annual report for corresponding endnotes. of copper at 0.4% with 3.7 million ouncesPlease see page 141 of the annual report for corresponding endnotes. of gold at 0.2g/t to inferred resources. These mineral resources reflect only three porphyries (H13, H14, H15) as well as the Tanjeel deposit within the cluster of Western Porphyries. Alongside the ongoing feasibility study update, the team is also planning to evaluate further known porphyry occurrences within the mining lease area.
North America also delivered growth in total attributable mineral resources, net of depletion, supporting future potential reserve growth in line with our strategy to fully replace depletion for the region within a five-year period. This was driven by underground resource extension drilling at both Goldstrike and Leeville in Carlin, as well as successful resource definition drilling at Goldrush and Robertson in Cortez, all of which support the potential for future reserve growth in this region. Measured and indicated attributable gold resources for the region increased by 2.8 million ounces to 73 million ouncesPlease see page 141 of the annual report for corresponding endnotes. at 2.16g/t, from 70 million ouncesPlease see page 141 of the annual report for corresponding endnotes. at 2.22g/t in 2021. Importantly, inferred attributable gold resources also increased to 17 million ouncesPlease see page 141 of the annual report for corresponding endnotes. at 1.8g/t, from 16 million ouncesPlease see page 141 of the annual report for corresponding endnotes. at 2.0g/t in 2021.
2022 mineral reserves and mineral resources are estimated using the combined value of gold, copper and silver. Accordingly, mineral reserves and mineral resources are reported for all assets where copper or silver is produced and sold as a primary product or a by-product. Barrick’s reserves and resources are reported to a rounding standard of two significant digits, which remains unchanged since 2019.