The Positive Impact of Responsible Mining
Effective and equitable socio-economic development worldwide would not be possible without the transformative contribution of responsible mining, Barrick president and chief executive Mark Bristow said on Tuesday July 25th.
Speaking at the group’s third annual Sustainability Update, Bristow said Barrick’s sustainability strategy was geared to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and in line with its commitment to transparency, its recently published Sustainability Report for 2022 showed how its operations contributed to or impacted on specific SDGs.
“We believe mining is the flywheel of development and therefore the entire industry is essential to the achievement of the SDGs,” he said.
Barrick’s sustainability executive, Grant Beringer, said the group was also making progress towards complete conformance with the latest best practices, including the International Council on Mining and Metals’ Performance Expectations, the World Gold Council’s Responsible Gold Mining Principles and the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management.
It continues to meet or exceed its environmental targets, including recycling and reusing water — up to 83% from 80% in 2021 — and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 6% year on year.
“We believe the mining industry is a catalyst for socio-economic development through the infrastructure we build, the jobs we create, the businesses we support through our supply chains and the investments we make in local communities.
Last year we distributed more than $15 billion in economic value, almost $11 billion of which stayed in our host countries. A further $36 million was invested in community development projects,” Beringer said.
The group’s current key focus areas are: using its purchasing power to drive down Scope 3 emissions from suppliers; developing a tool to measure its contribution to the conservation and regeneration of biodiversity; continuing to provide ESG raters with the latest sustainability-related information; and progressing the environmental and social studies at the giant Reko Diq project in Balochistan, Pakistan, where it is already delivering on its community development commitments, far ahead of the targeted first production in 2028.
“Done right, the mining industry is a powerful force for good in the global drive for social and economic development. At Barrick, we continue to focus on sustainable delivery across our mines and projects in 14 countries,” Bristow said.
