The safety of our stakeholders — employees and contractors who work at the mine and our local community members — has always been a top priority for Barrick. With our Journey to Zero mindset, our focus at North Mara is crystal clear: ensuring the safety and well-being of every person who steps foot on site and providing the safest environment for our community members by clearly separating inherently dangerous industrial activities of the mine behind defined closed access areas. We have undertaken significant measures to implement our updated safety parameters at the mine for the benefit of all stakeholders.
As a first step in 2019, and in line with our commitment to leveraging supply chain and procurement to support and maximize local economic development, we hired a 100% Tanzanian owned and managed company, to replace an international security firm at our mines. These employees are fully trained in the basic legal principles regarding security and the legal framework they work in, the conduct of security personnel, the effective use of their equipment and, importantly, International Security and Human Rights Principles and the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights. Security personnel do not carry any weapons and there are no weapons stored on site.
Relationship between Local Police, the Community and North Mara Gold Mines Limited (NMGML)
Industrial activities, such as large scale mining, are inherently dangerous, which is why we have clear protocols to ensure that access to the NMGML is restricted only to authorized personnel. Additionally, the infrastructure around the mine is specifically designed to prevent community members from accidentally entering restricted and hazardous areas on site and putting themselves or our personnel in danger.
Security is critically important to protecting the lives of our employees at the mine and our assets from coordinated and armed intruders. While most residents in the communities surrounding the mine site are law-abiding, there are groups of armed individuals who illegally enter the site and present a serious risk to the health and safety of our personnel, contractors and local community members, as well as to themselves. That is why we prioritize continuously training all personnel in security measures, our procedures, how to engage with potential trespassers and initiatives around community engagement and awareness. Additionally, NMGML engages closely with the community and the Tanzanian police to promote a safer environment.
To ensure NMGML is safeguarding the lives of its employees and assets, it employs local security personnel. When situations present themselves that place individuals at high risk, NMGML calls the Tanzanian police when deemed necessary, as any individual or entity does around the world when laws are broken and people are threatened with violence.
Importantly, NMGML does not, and cannot, nor can be expected to exert control over, direct or instruct the Tanzanian Police Force (TPF), which operates independently under its own chain of command and is an institution in accordance with the Constitution of Tanzania. There are clear boundaries between local Private and Public security forces and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is in place with the TPF.
Memorandum of Understanding
MoUs between companies, particularly large scale extractive and agricultural industries, and Public Police Forces are regarded as International Best Practice and are implemented by Barrick in nearly all jurisdictions, and as per the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights. The purposes of an MoU, especially how they provide an extra layer of security for community members, are often misunderstood.
To clearly define our relationship with the police, we have a MoU between North Mara Gold Mine and the Tanzanian Police Force. The MoU ensures there are clear lines of communication between NMGML and those government organizations responsible for security in the areas we operate. We have MoUs in place with public security at all of our mines across the globe, and this is no different to North Mara.
Some specifics of our MoU include mechanisms for:
- Training requirements, including the Voluntary Principles, NMGML’s and Barrick’s standards and Human Rights
- Engagement forum, including incident escalation procedures and investigation requirements
- Police only enter inside the perimeter of the Mine Site when requested by North Mara’s management depending on the level of security threat, or pursuant to a lawful criminal investigation
Given the environment where the North Mara Gold Mine is located, there are occasionally incidents that do occur involving armed intruders on our mine site. We promptly and transparently share the details of these incidents and work closely with the Tanzanian authorities as part of their investigation.
Working Together with the Community to Promote a Safer Environment
Barrick has been proactive and engaged closely with traditional elders, councilors and village chairmen to take steps to curb illegal entry into the mine.
Mariam Mkono, speaking on behalf of fellow councilors, said they want to help with stopping invasions at the mine and whoever is found doing so will face stern legal steps against them. He said the North Mara Mine plays a significant role in the Tarmine District’s development and therefore the entire community is impacted by these illegal attacks.
During a recent visit to the Mine by five directors from Tanzanian’s Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Mwiga Mbesia, Director of Youth Development, noted how the team at North Mara has implemented a strong system to receive and resolve citizens’ complaints and credited Barrick’s efforts to bring positive social and economic development opportunities to young people in the community. The PMO has committed to collaborating with the North Mara mine to establish a fund to empower youth economically, a key step in collectively helping to reduce the threat of invasions at the Mine.
Spotlight: Providing Alternative Livelihood Opportunities
“I work as a motorbike driver, dealing in transportation. In the past, people used to sneak into the mine by climbing over the wall. Nowadays, this new economy does not depend on the mine as much. People are now engaged in various other businesses. There are more small-scale miners, you can find women selling fresh produce, and the influx of workers to the mines helps grow the town and create a vibrant economy.”
Another facet to our approach is to develop alternate livelihood opportunities for local young people to dissuade them from encroaching on our permits, and to encourage those workers to find sustainable jobs to support the local community. We provide regular training to equip local community members with the necessary skills to secure work either on our mine or in other local businesses, and by prioritizing the purchase of goods and services from the local community.
“The mine has helped with employing the youth. Its effects can also be felt through local businesses, for example, we have a car washing service here. We have been able to employ young people who are now earning sufficient income through this sustainable work. If not for the mine, we would not be here. Although not all of us can be employed by the mine as we don’t all possess the required skill sets to work there, the mine has enabled us to engage in other small businesses, such as selling food on the streets.”