During 2021, the operating leverage Barrick has to the copper price and our ability to participate in the global decarbonization imperative became clearer. Our copper business contributed around 20% of Barrick’s bottom line during the year, and we expect to see that grow in the future as we develop this portfolio.
We are very near the end of our systems transformation journey that started almost two and half years ago. We have completed the implementation of SAP and OneStream at all our operations throughout the Americas and Africa. This has progressively allowed us to simplify our systems landscape by decommissioning several legacy and outdated enterprise resource planning and reporting platforms. That simplification has also been supported by further portfolio rationalization through disposals of non-core assets, including the Lone Tree and South Arturo asset swap and Lagunas Norte divestiture.
We are now starting to realise the benefits of simplifying the group structure in the form of lower costs, higher operating efficiencies and enhanced transparency through the ability to benchmark our operations. We have adapted our supply chain model to minimize exposure to the biggest cost drivers while at the same time fully leveraging our buying power across the group, aided by our new SAP supply chain and planned maintenance implementations.
Identifying and effectively dealing with risk is key to a safe and sustainable business and is an integral part of how we protect and create value. Our risk management process is designed to enable us to identify, evaluate, plan and manage risks, including new and emerging risks that could have an impact on our business. During the year, we carried out a robust assessment of these risks, uncertainties and emerging risks facing the group. We also proactively analyzed the impact of these risks through scenarios linked to the interplay between geopolitics, societal expectations and technology advancement.
While the previous two years have been largely focused on business transformation and building our geological understanding and 10-year plan in 2021, we started delivering on our foundational purpose. We continue to be excited by the additional value that is within our grasp and we are pursuing the capture of this upside to achieve our goal of becoming the world’s most valued gold and copper mining company.
Graham Shuttleworth
Senior Executive Vice-President, Chief Financial Officer