Environmental stewardship
We recognize that mining for gold and copper has consequences for the natural environment and as a responsible mining company we act to minimize and mitigate the negative impacts, and amplify the positive ones. Here we report on our most material environmental focus areas: climate resilience, water stewardship, biodiversity conservation and waste management.
Our careful stewardship of the natural environment is governed by our Environmental Policy, responsibility for which lies with the Group Sustainability Executive with oversight by our Board. In 2023 all our operational mines were certified against the globally-respected ISO 14001:2015 standard for their environmental management system, and for the fifth consecutive year since the Merger that we recorded zero major environmental incidents.
Climate resilience
We are committed to managing our climate risks and leveraging the opportunities of the low carbon transition, including investing in clean energy to power the needs of our mines and host communities. The increasing use of renewable energy is a key driver of growth for our business, with copper a critical input in renewable energy sources such as solar PVs and wind turbines and gold used in solar and fuel cells to improve efficiency.
We have a multi-faced approach to addressing, avoiding, managing and adapting to climate change. This includes detailed emissions disclosure by each site against short, medium and long term reduction targets and a detailed and continually updated emissions reduction roadmap. Since 2021 this has included disclosure in the complex area of ‘scope 3’ ie the indirect emissions caused by suppliers and other entities not owned or controlled by our company, but an area of our business where we believe we can have influence driving global action.
In 2023 we generated direct emissions (scope 1 and 2) of 6,357kt of CO2-e1, which represents a 5% reduction compared to 2022, and a 15% reduction against our 2018 baseline. We continue to progress our emission reduction capex and operational efficiency projects as part of our target to reduce emissions by 30% by 2030 against this baseline while maintaining a steady production profile. In 2023 we also published a detailed target for reduction of our scope 3 emissions which is available on our website.
We continue to develop alternative sources of electricity, as set out in our roadmap to Net Zero including expansion of the Loulo-Gounkoto solar farm in Mali from 20MW to 60MW, breaking ground on the new solar plant in Nevada and introducing electric vehicles into the light vehicle fleet in the same complex. We are also seeing the benefits of our major project to connect our Veladero mine to the Chilean national grid, which has a higher proportion of clean energy than the national grid of Argentina where Veladero is located.
As part of managing our long-term climate risks we completed a TCFD (Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosures) aligned scenario analysis for Nevada Gold Mines, as the US is our biggest source of emissions by country. We also conducted climate change risk and vulnerability assessments as part of our ESIA processes for proposed expansions at our Tongon, Loulo, Kibali and Lumwana mines.
Full details of our governance and risk management approach, as set out using the requirements of Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosure is available online.
1 Market-based
Water stewardship
Responsible water management is critical to our business and we seek to protect and where possible enhance access to clean water for other stakeholders, particularly local communities.
Each mine has its own site-specific water management plan with a strategy based on four pillars:
- To conserve and protect high quality water resources wherever we operate. In 2023 we reused or recycled 84% of all water used to help achieve this.
- To consider other users through using basin-wide water balances. These studies consider impacts from climate change as well as the current and future demands of other users and the key biodiversity features that rely on shared water sources.
- To track and ensure we don’t exceed our permitted thresholds for abstraction or discharge quality, which we do through site-wide balances, monitoring and management plans. For example at our Jabal Sayid mine in Saudi Arabia, which is considered a water scarce area, the operations use water sent from a wastewater facility, so as not to impact local catchment water stress. In areas of water abundance such as Kibali (DRC) and Pueblo Vieojo (Dominican Republic) management plans focus on how to avoid stress from heavy rainfall and flooding.
- To provide honest and open disclosure, including reporting against the market-leading ICMM Water Reporting Framework. We also conduct participatory monitoring programs for community members across many sites, especially where water is a key community concern.
As with all elements of sustainability our approach is holistic and access to water is one of the key investment themes for Community Development Committees. In 2023 this saw, for example, local communities deliver a new water tower in North Mara giving 30,000 Tanzanians better access to water and the establishment of several community drinking fountains near Kibali in the DRC.
Our commitment to responsible water use is set out in our Environmental policy and further details of our water management can be found in our Sustainability Report.
Nurturing nature
We aim to play a positive role in the management of the biodiversity both inside and outside the mine gates, and strive to use biodiversity as a tool to help drive community development. Our commitments are enshrined in our Environmental Policy, and as a standalone Biodiversity Policy.
Our approach is to have no net loss on any Key Biodiversity Features (KBFs) identified at our sites, and to contribute positively to the conservation of high value biodiversity in the regions in which we operate.
Examples of these contributions can be found in each mine’s Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP). These include the protection of sage-grouse habitat in Nevada, our extensive support to the Garamba National Park (DRC) and Aniana Vargas National Park in Dominican Republic. Many of these projects also support local jobs based on conservation and eco-tourism.
Our work to protect biodiversity is also about long-term value creation. For example the most cost-effective solution for active and sustained water treatment is the creation of wetlands. At Loulo we developed the largest constructed wetland in West Africa, which removes and reduces nitrates and sediment from the mine’s underground pumped water down to acceptable levels prior to discharge.
The wetland provides a habitat for a range of local fauna and flora and acts as a carbon sink by converting carbon dioxide into plant material potentially storing close to 80 tonnes CO2-e.
Many stakeholders, particularly in the investment community, are now aware of the risks posed by poor biodiversity management but we have found few tools on the market that help us measure the complexity and nuance of biodiversity and impacts to the extent that is necessary to make informed decision. That’s why throughout 2023 we have been working with third party experts to develop and pilot a new biodiversity measurement tool. We hope that in time this will be a useful contribution to help the sector effectively measure biodiversity impacts, identify projects to support, set metrics for good management and drive good practice.
Responsible waste and tailings management
Dealing responsibly with the waste our operations produce – including tailings, waste rock, and non-processing waste – is vital to the health of people, the environment and our business
as a whole.
At Barrick, we endeavor to reduce the waste and pollution that stems from our operations, reuse or recycle those products that can be, and to deal with remaining waste in a responsible manner that protects the natural environment. All our operations have waste sorting areas for the separation of metals, wood and equipment, and for waste oil collection.
We are always looking for innovative ways to reuse or recycle, including working with local companies or artisans to collect, recycle or dispose of our waste safely and hope to replicate the good work being done on circular initiatives at our Veladero mine in 2023 (see box).
We follow a rigorous risk-based approach to the management of hazardous waste. We are aligned with the ICMM position statement on Mercury Risk Management, are a signatory to the International Cyanide Management Code (ICMC) and member of the International Cyanide Management Institute (ICMI).
Safety-first approach
The most significant of our waste streams is tailings, ie the crushed rock, unrecoverable materials and chemicals left from the processing of mined ore, and as set out in our group- wide Tailings Management Standard, safety is at the center of our approach. However, our safety focus is not only on tailings. For example, our group Heap Leach Management Standard is designed to ensure we locate, design, construct, operate and close our heap leach facilities in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations and in alignment with accepted international practice.
Our standard sets out the key roles required for the management of all active and closed tailings facilities (TSFs) and our six levels of inspection and surety for the safe management and operation of TSFs and heap leach pads. All our TSFs meet regulatory requirements and continually work towards best practice.
In line with the requirements of the recently created Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM) all our priority facilities (those with extreme or very high consequence classifications) conform to GISTM requirements. We are now working to ensure our other facilities also conform by the August 2025 deadline.
In 2023, in line with our standard and GISTM requirements, of the 59 tailings storage facilities that Barrick owns or operates, only 14 are classified as ‘Extreme’ (five facilities) or ‘Very High’ (nine facilities) under the GISTM. All 14 of these facilities conform with the requirements of the GISTM. Two facilities (Giant Nickel’s Upper and Lower TSFs) are classified as being in ‘Safe Closure’ and are therefore not subject to the disclosure requirements of the GISTM, while one facility (Zaldivar TSF) is operated by a joint venture partner and is therefore not included in Barrick’s GISTM disclosures.
Full details of our approach to waste management and an inventory of our tailings facilities are available in the Sustainability Report and on our website.