A BARRICK GOLD REPORT ON RESPONSIBLE MINING | B E YO N D B O R D E R S B E YO N D B O R D E R S | A BARRICK GOLD REPORT ON RESPONSIBLE MINING

High in the barren Andes mountains lies a body of ore

spanning the border between Chile and Argentina.
Known as Pascua-Lama, it is believed to be the world’s first
bi-national gold mining project.
At the site of the project and in Barrick’s offices

A Special Report on both sides of the border below, years of

planning and preparation have translated into
intense activity. A major hiring campaign is
underway and initial construction has begun.

on Pascua- Lama Anticipation is high among job-seekers living

in the rural valleys closest to the project area
and in towns over a hundred kilometers away
in San Juan province, Argentina and Chile’s
Atacama Region. During the project’s three-year
construction phase, more than 5,500 direct jobs
will be created. Priority will be given to hiring
local people, a welcome feature of the project
given current high levels of unemployment.
Once in production, Pascua-Lama will employ
approximately 1,600 people. For each direct job
created, an estimated 2.5 to three indirect jobs
are expected to be generated.

Scarlett Jara is Pascua-Lama’s Recruitment

and Training manager and she leads a team
responsible for staffing up the project. She
spends most of her days in back-to-back
interviews. To date, the company has received
145,000 job applications and more continue
to flood in daily. That is roughly equivalent to
the populations of Greenland and Bermuda
combined.

A special computerized data management

system was installed to sort and categorize the
huge volume of interested candidates. “There is
by Nancy J. White an enormous sense of momentum now that the
hiring process is well underway,” reports Jara.
“Given the urgent need for employment in the
Front Cover Photo: Traditional gauchos from Chile and Argentina ride through the foothills of the Andes region, it is a real pleasure to be able to offer
mountains in Iglesia, Argentina. Barrick provided funding to the Fiesta del Lazo, a popular festival, as part of people quality jobs with such a great company.”
the company’s programs to support local culture within Pascua-Lama’s area of influence.

6 September 2009 September 2009 7

 A BARRICK GOLD REPORT ON RESPONSIBLE MINING | B E YO N D B O R D E R S
Budding entrepreneurs hoping to sell their goods and services
are also gearing up to support the project. Recent company
information sessions have attracted more than 800 potential
suppliers and many are being evaluated by the company. This is
in addition to the hundreds of contractors who have helped to
move the project forward over the years.
Evidence that Pascua-Lama will have a powerful, far-reaching
economic stimulus effect can be found only 10 kilometers away
at neighboring Veladero mine in Argentina. Now four years
into operation, Veladero has become a catalyst for economic
development and an important source of investment to the San
Juan provincial economy. Pascua-Lama is among Barrick’s next
generation of larger, lower cost mines that include the Cortez
Hills project in Nevada and the Pueblo Viejo* project in the
Dominican Republic. Pre-production construction costs for
Pascua-Lama are estimated at between $2.8 to $3 billion, and
significant tax revenues and royalties will be generated during
the expected 25-year mine life. The large capital investment up
front will build one of the lowest cost gold producing mines in
the world, with anticipated total cash costs at $20-$50 per ounce.
Such a significant investment, combined with the company’s
community programs, will help regions struggling to modernize
and achieve socio-economic development. Argentina and
SCARLETT JARA,
Chile are middle-income countries and offer a highly attractive
RECRUITMENT &
investment climate for companies like Barrick. Yet like so many
TRAINING MANAGER
countries, the ability to identify pathways out of poverty for
disadvantaged citizens has proven challenging.
On the Chilean side of the project, the Atacama Region is
home to many remote agrarian communities. It is also an area
* Barrick holds a 60 per cent interest in the $2.7 billion Pueblo Viejo joint venture;
Goldcorp Inc. owns the remaining 40 per cent.
8 September 2009
A SPECIAL REPORT ON PA SCUA-L AM A
INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS INCLUDE THE CONSTRUCTION
OF A PEDESTRIAN WALKWAY AND SCHOOL CROSSING
ALONG A RURAL HIGHWAY IN SAN FÉLIX, CHILE.
Pascua-Lama
• Located in Chile’s Atacama Region and Argentina’s San Juan
Province, 150 km southeast of Vallenar, Chile and 380 km
northwest of the city of San Juan in Argentina
• 75% of ore body located in Chile, 25% in Argentina
• Estimated 17.8 M ounces of proven and probable gold
reserves, containing 718 M ounces of silver
• Pre-production construction estimate is $2.8-$3.0 billion
with expected average annual production of about 750,000-
800,000 ounces of gold and 35 million ounces of silver in
the first full five years.
September 2009
A SPECIAL REPORT ON PA SCUA-L AM A
TOP: BARRICK SPONSORS NUMEROUS RURAL AND
CULTURAL ACTIVITIES IN THE ATACAMA REGION.
INSET: THE CHILEAN CITY OF VALLENAR IN THE ATACAMA
REGION.
rich in untapped resources, with vast tracts of dry, inhospitable
land that cannot support farming. Pockets of poverty exist,
where hundreds of families struggle to subsist and meet their
basic daily needs. Nationally, the Atacama Region has one of the
highest proportions of families living in substandard housing,
known as “campamentos.” The latest regional figures put
unemployment at 11.6 per cent. In the more densely populated
city of Vallenar, the jobless rate is 14 per cent. Many people with
deep ties to the area have had to leave to find employment. In
this region, the mining sector has been an important job creator.
Currently, it is one of the area’s largest employers, providing jobs
for nearly 16,000 people in 2008.
Well-planned, well-run mines can improve quality of life in
the communities around them. Pascua-Lama is a case in point.
To maximize its potential benefits for communities in the
region and in San Juan province, from 2005 to 2008, Barrick
implemented a vast, bi-national training program in preparation
for project go-ahead. The aim was to build the capacity and
increase the local skills base to create employment and other
opportunities.
Close to 10,000 people have benefited from these wide-ranging
training programs, which have included a supplier development
program, technical, industrial and farming skills, and teacher
training. Barrick has long recognized the relationship between
education levels and development. Some 700 local students have
received scholarships to pursue a higher education in fields that
included but were not limited to mining. Similar sustainable
development projects are underway or being planned for San
Juan province.
9

THE ATACAMA COMMITMENT
In December of 2008, Barrick announced it had formed a
partnership with three Chilean NGOs and the United Nations
Global Compact (UNGC) to provide real help to people living in
poverty in the Atacama Region. The Atacama Commitment is
an unprecedented anti-poverty alliance that includes programs
to improve housing, education, access to technology, and health
services for the disabled. A three-way educational partnership
involving the Cisneros Foundation, Intel Corp. and Barrick,
called Class 21, is also part of this unique effort. Its goal is to help
to reduce disparities in education between students with access
to modern 21st century technology and those without. Recently
under the program, 400 children in two remote schools gained
access to the internet and new, child-friendly laptops.
The journey to development
The journey to Pascua-Lama first began back in 1994, when
Barrick acquired Lac Minerals Limited, a Toronto-based gold
producer whose assets included the Pascua-Lama exploration
property and 40 per cent ownership of the nearby Veladero
AN ECONOMICALLY DEPRESSED NEIGHBORHOOD IN CHILE
10 THAT WILL BENEFIT FROM THE ATACAMA COMMITMENT.
A SPECIAL REPORT ON PA SCUA-L AM A
property. Both properties are located in the highly prospective
Frontera gold district.
Barrick’s 2001 acquisition of Homestake Mining Company
consolidated the company’s ownership of Veladero, gaining the
remaining 60 per cent of the project. Veladero would advance to
be the first to commence operations, with first gold pour in 2005.
As Barrick invested in exploration and developed feasibility
studies, Pascua-Lama was deferred in the late 1990s and into
2000 due to low gold and silver prices. Over time, however, gold
reserves steadily increased from original estimates of 2.3 million
to the current 17.8 million ounces.
In 2000, the national governments of Argentina and Chile
ratified a historic Mining Integration Treaty. The landmark
treaty provides a cooperative framework for the development of
cross-border bi-national mining projects, starting with Pascua-
Lama. The company continued its work on optimizing the
project and embarked on the complex permitting process.
The development of Pascua-Lama parallels a period of
rising global awareness about environmental issues, from
energy conservation in daily life to standards for industrial
performance. Growing public expectations of companies have
been evident in Argentina and Chile for many years. Within this
context, Pascua-Lama was subject to one of the most thorough
and exhaustive reviews by authorities in the history of both
countries.
In 2004, the company’s Pascua-Lama team submitted
two separate but complementary Environmental Impact
Assessments, one to Chilean authorities and a second to
regulators in Argentina. Each document was thousands of pages
in length. Barrick’s teams had sought out and engaged local and
international experts in such fields as hydrology, engineering,
geochemistry, environmental management and glaciology,
September 2009
A SPECIAL REPORT ON PA SCUA-L AM A
drawn from numerous private sector firms and over a dozen
universities and scientific institutions.
Government regulators in both countries had mandated a
broad public consultation process. The company went even
further than regulations required, setting up community
offices in local towns and villages and systematically consulting
with stakeholders within the project’s area of influence and
beyond. An extensive door-to-door information campaign
was organized, with staff visiting residents and providing
information. They held nearly 1,000 meetings and dozens of
open houses in Chile’s Atacama Region and in Argentina’s
Iglesia and Jáchal districts. Members of the Pascua-Lama team
talked, they listened and answered questions, engaging with
government officials and regulators, academics, scientists,
environmentalists, industry associations, media and the public.
Formal consultations took place over 15 months in Chile and 20
months in Argentina.
During this time, Pascua-Lama’s location near the ice bodies
in the Andes became the subject of genuine interest and consid-
erable distortion. Ron Kettles, project director for Pascua-Lama,
recalls how early on inaccurate claims and misinformation
circulated on the internet about the project. Drawing on
extensive input from some of the world’s leading glaciology
experts and academic institutions, Kettles and the Pascua-Lama
permitting team mapped out the different ice bodies in the
vicinity of the project and explained in detail how they would be
protected and monitored using scientific best practices and pro-
tocols. Pit limits were revised to ensure mining would not impact
on ice fields (Toro 1, Toro 2 and Esperanza). Further engineering
advances and design improvements were made to address com-
munity concerns and meet all environmental requirements and
approval conditions on both sides of the border.
A BARRICK EMPLOYEE DISCUSSES PASCUA-LAMA WITH A
LOCAL RESIDENT DURING A DOOR-TO-DOOR PUBLIC
INFORMATION CAMPAIGN.
September 2009
In 2006, EIA approval was received from CONAMA, Chile’s
national environmental agency and COREMA, the country’s
regional environmental authority. Later that same year, the
Independent Mining Environmental Evaluation Commission
gave approval in Argentina. Over 420 conditions were set out in
the Chilean EIA and more than 500 conditions in Argentina.
With little prompting, Kettles will explain in painstaking
detail any one of the hundreds of environmental measures
required by permit. He believes the Pascua-Lama project
that has taken shape over the years will be among the most
environmentally responsible mining projects in the entire
industry.
As Kettles points out, “Pascua-Lama has been designed to
be operated and managed under extremely strict and detailed
environmental standards. This includes provisions to ensure
that mining does not impact the glaciers or water quality and
quantity for downstream communities in Chile and Argentina.”
COMMUNITIES SEE OPPORTUNITY
Recognizing the opportunities for development that Pascua-
Lama would bring, in 2007 community leaders from Chile found
their voice, issuing an impassioned letter of public support for
the project. The joint letter was signed by the presidents from
seven community associations representing some 6,600 families
in Vallenar, Huasco Valley and Alto del Carmen, as well as
organizations representing local mothers and seniors.
The letter read…“For many years, we have seen how our
families, friends and neighbors have been forced to leave their
homes in search of jobs… We have seen how our young people
are frustrated when they can no longer pursue their dreams…”
The elected leaders from these communities expressed
confidence in the company’s plans for environmental
Key Conditions of Approval: Protecting nearby ice bodies
Chilean approval of Pascua-Lama states that “the company
shall only access the ore in a manner that does not remove,
relocate, destroy or physically intervene (with) the Toro 1,
Toro 2, and Esperanza glaciers.”
Protecting water
• Stringent regulatory conditions to ensure water quality
and quantity is not affected for downstream communities
in Argentina and Chile.
• Extensive water monitoring: 87 water monitoring points,
26 of which are telemetric points for real time reporting.
11

FROM LEFT, BARRICK’S CEO AARON REGENT AND PASCUA-LAMA PROJECT
DIRECTOR RON KETTLES OVERLOOK THE PROJECT SITE.
management and their right to determine their own future…
“there are many who fight against our people’s progress, to
keep them living in inadequate conditions, with no aspirations.
But it is time for us to raise our voices demanding the same
opportunities that others have had. Our people deserve
prosperity.”
Then, this past May, Barrick’s President and CEO Aaron
Regent made the go-ahead announcement for Pascua-Lama.
The company had finalized the project’s economic parameters,
received key construction permits, and resolved key
outstanding fiscal matters with the governments of Chile and
Argentina. At the time, Chile’s President, Michelle Bachelet,
and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, President of Argentina,
expressed their satisfaction that the important milestone had
been achieved.
The project is now proceeding through the construction
stages, with commissioning expected in late 2012 and the
first gold pour in 2013. Discussions with project financiers are
underway, targeting $1 billion in project financing.
Igor Gonzales, president of Barrick South America, is proud
of the many employees who worked on the project over the
years. He feels they have played a pioneering role, engaging
in a constructive dialogue about environmental and social
responsibility within the mining sector, while advancing a
project that will create opportunity in places where options
today are limited.
Gonzales is also confident that when the hundreds of newly-
trained local employees start to build Pascua-Lama shortly, the
result will be a better designed and managed project.
“The Pascua-Lama project we have today sets the bar
high,” said Gonzales. “It takes advantage of the latest science,
engineering and environmental advances in modern mining,
while bringing
important benefits to
communities. That
is what responsible
mining is all about.”
IGOR GONZALES,
PRESIDENT OF BARRICK
SOUTH AMERICA
12
A SPECIAL REPORT ON PA SCUA-L AM A
Miners and farmers
find common ground
The air is thin and cool in the Andes mountains at Pascua-Lama.
At altitudes of over 5,000 meters above sea level, there is little
plant life and animal sightings are rare. Few people would have
had reason to venture to the place where one of the world’s
largest gold deposits lay undetected for millennia.
Below is Chile’s Huasco Valley, a sunny, semi-arid valley that
features pockets of green. Boxed in by the Atacama Desert to the
north, the valley has often provided a sustainable business for
farmers, who export products like grapes and strawberries to the
September 2009
A SPECIAL REPORT ON PA SCUA-L AM A
Agreements with
water users to improve supply
CHILE
United States and Europe. But long droughts have underscored In 2005, Barrick signed an agreement with the Huasco Valley
the challenges they face. Water Users Cooperative in Chile, aimed at increasing the area’s
Local farmers, area residents and government officials have water supply and protecting water quality. With nearly 2,000
expressed concern about the sustainability of the valley’s members, the Water Users Cooperative represents a majority of
agricultural industry. Much of the valley’s water infrastructure the valley’s farmers and other water users who hold title to water
and irrigation channels are in need of repair or upgrades. rights in the Huasco Valley.
On the Argentinean side, virtually no one lives in the Under the agreement, Barrick set up a long-term fund to
quiet foothills immediately below Pascua-Lama. The nearest repair and build new water infrastructure in cooperation
community is some 150 kilometers southeast in the small with farmers in the valley. Already irrigation, construction
farming village of Tudcum. Here, and in the more densely and improvement projects have been completed, marking the
populated villages in the districts of Jáchal and Iglesia in San beginning of a 20-year improvement program. The fund focuses
Juan province, the irrigation and water distribution system on agricultural irrigation and water quality control. These
would also benefit from improvements. projects will improve sustainable agricultural yields in the valley
When Barrick announced plans to develop Pascua-Lama, and allow for a much more efficient use of water.
local farmers wanted assurances from the company that mining The fund is administered by a committee comprising local
activity would not impact their water supply. It was one of water users and representatives from the regional government
multitude of complex environmental issues that Kettles would and Barrick. Funding from the company will be supplemented
contend with over the next five years after taking the helm of the by contributions from other public and private sector sources.
project in 2004. “This agreement provides for investment in irrigation,
With 40 years of professional mining experience, Kettles including irrigation channel lining, and other water projects,”
remembers a time before joining Barrick, when it was not
uncommon for some mining companies to virtually ignore
farming communities nearby when designing a project. “Today
all that has completely changed,” said Kettles, who is on a first
name basis with many local farmers. “They are Pascua-Lama’s
closest neighbors. Our social licence to operate begins with them
and we have an obligation to protect their livelihood.”
“The development of this bi-national project shall
undoubtedly constitute tangible proof of the effectiveness
and concrete application of the Mining Integration
Treaty as a result of the cooperation and joint efforts ABOVE: THE HUASCO VALLEY. BELOW: CONSTRUCTION OF POTABLE WATER
NETWORKS IN IGLESIA, ARGENTINA.
of both countries.”
The President of the Republic of Argentina,
Her Excellency Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
“When this project begins, it will generate over 5,000 jobs
and can make a significant contribution to the job crisis in
the region.”
The President of the Republic of Chile,
Her Excellency Michelle Bachelet
September 2009 13
 A SPECIAL REPORT ON PA SCUA-L AM A
says Omar Campillay, a local farmer and member of the
Diaguita indigenous community, who exports grapes, avocado
and papaya. “It is important to remember that in the Huasco
Valley, 80 per cent of our water channels are currently unpaved.
As a result, we lose about 40 per cent of the water carried by the
channels.”
Carlos Gonzales is the outgoing president of the Water Users
Cooperative, following the election last month of Efrain Alday, a
local farmer and board member.
Both Gonzales and Alday, like many other farmers, are
confident that agriculture and mining can co-exist with
COMMUNITY MEMBERS PARTICIPATE IN WATER MONITORING ACTIVITIES.
mutually beneficial results. Gonzales estimates that by
improving the lining of all water channels in the area, water
loss could be reduced to five per cent. “We may become the
best irrigated valley in Chile, registering the lowest loss relative
to water conduction. Nowhere in the country has 95 per cent
efficiency rate for (water) transport been achieved.”
In a recent public statement, Gonzales expressed the benefits
of the agreement to date and how the unprecedented investment
“demonstrates the possibility of transforming our valley and
its distribution of irrigation water into the most modern and
efficient in the country.”
Alday believes the agreement with Barrick will improve scarce
local water resources in the valley. “Barrick understands that the
valley needs to be cared for and protected,” he said. “Through
discussions with the mining company, we gained a better
PICTURED: SMALL-SCALE AGRICULTURE, CATTLE-FARMING AND GOAT-RAISING IN
THE CHILEAN AND ARGENTINEAN VALLEYS NEAR THE PROJECT.
14 September 2009
A SPECIAL REPORT ON PA SCUA-L AM A
understanding of how to make farming in the region more
sustainable.”
Magaly Varas, Governor of Huasco province, is the
government representative serving on the committee that
reviews project proposals and administers the fund. Varas
believes the new funds will level the playing field for farmers
with smaller land holdings. “Before this fund existed, many
small-scale farmers could not apply for public funds to improve
water infrastructure,” acknowledged Varas. “It wasn’t easy for
them to raise the minimum 20 to 25 per cent of total project
financing required to be eligible for this funding.” In addition
to providing technical support to water monitoring authorities,
members of the Cooperative will work to strengthen local water
associations to ensure the fund benefits the entire valley.
Currently, the committee is evaluating projects to construct
a head reservoir in the sub-basin of the El Carmen River.
Two other mountain lagoons are also slated to undergo
improvements, along with major renovations to the seven largest
water canals near the city of Vallenar. These and dozens of other
smaller waterworks projects mark the beginning of the two-
decade improvement program that will benefit water users in
the valley.
“This valley can accommodate not only agriculture, but
also industrial and mining activities,” said Alday. “Barrick
will accomplish its mission and we will be able to gain the
development we need.”
September 2009 15

TO HELP JÁCHAL FARMERS IN ARGENTINA DEVELOP A SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOOD AND EXPAND THEIR PRODUCTION AND MARKETS, BARRICK HELPED TO LAUNCH A
DRIED TOMATO EXPORTING PROGRAM.
ARGENTINA
In Argentina, the company has signed an agreement with
the San Juan provincial government to establish a fund that
will improve basic infrastructure and support community
development projects. The fund will be used for projects and
initiatives that meet the needs and priorities of residents living
within Pascua-Lama’s area of influence.
Under an agreement with the province, similar water projects
to those underway in Chile will benefit local water users. This
agreement has been sanctioned by irrigators in Jáchal, a district
where agriculture and wine production are the mainstays of the
local economy. Detailed engineering studies commissioned by
the company are supporting the expansion, repair and upgrade
of irrigation systems used by farmers and other water users.
These efforts are expected to prevent current losses of large
volumes of water, estimated at more than 1,000 liters per second.
Supporting these efforts, Barrick has put in place programs
to help develop Jáchal’s agricultural sector. In recent years, the
16
A SPECIAL REPORT ON PA SCUA-L AM A
company’s agricultural experts have been working closely with
the local Jáchal farming association to enable its 400 members
to diversify their crops, improve productivity and sell their meat
and produce at competitive prices to international markets. So
while Jáchal is considered the onion capital of Argentina, the
district is now becoming known for it fresh and dried tomatoes,
honey, garlic and other less water-intensive products.
Neighboring Iglesia is one of Argentina’s most picturesque but
least affluent areas, with more limited agricultural production.
Farmers in Iglesia will also benefit from upgrades to existing
irrigation systems. However, in a move to stimulate economic
diversification, last year the company invested in a multi-
media campaign to promote Iglesia as a tourism destination in
collaboration with local officials. Barrick is also working with
the provincial government to upgrade the potable water network
in Iglesia - a key benefit since many area businesses and residents
lack access to potable water.
September 2009
A SPECIAL REPORT ON PA SCUA-L AM A
Helping the Neediest Families: The Atacama Commitment
Located in northern Chile, the Atacama Region is home to some of
the country’s poorest and most isolated communities. The Atacama
Commitment is a unique alliance between Barrick, three Chilean
NGOs and the United Nations Global Compact that will improve
housing, technology, education and health services in the region.
A series of targeted programs will address some of the most
difficult conditions encountered by people living in poverty,
helping an estimated 4,000 people.
Highlights:
• New homes for families: 700 new homes will be built to replace
substandard housing.
• Services for children with disabilities: A new health center, to
be located in Copiapó City, will provide children with disabilities
access to integrated medical, therapeutic and psychosocial
services. Barrick will fund the management of key center
programs for a five-year period.
• Bridging the digital divide: Class 21, an educational partnership
involving the Cisneros Foundation, Intel Corp. and Barrick, is
bringing modern computer technology and wireless internet
access to isolated schools in the region.
• Sustainable development: Professionals will provide their
BELOW: RECENT GRADUATES OF BARRICK-SPONSORED PROGRAMS IN DIAGUITA
expertise to develop sustainable development programs tailored
ARTISANAL CRAFTS. ARTISANAL AND COMMERCIAL TRAINING IS ENABLING
to the region.
MEMBERS OF CHILE’S DIAGUITA COMMUNITY TO PRESERVE THEIR INDIGENOUS
HERITAGE AND SELL THEIR WORK TO NEW MARKETS.
Benefiting Pascua-Lama communities
Since 2005, Barrick has sponsored more than 40 community
projects in Chile and Argentina. These initiatives target Pascua-
Lama’s area of influence and seek to improve education, training,
health, local water supply, cultural restoration and small business
development in these regions.
• 2,000 Argentine children have benefited from an annual oral
health program; another 700 vaccinated against hepatitis A.
• 1,000 Argentinean women living in remote regions have
undergone examinations for early detection of breast and
uterine cancer.
• Nearly 800 teachers have received training to improve education
and use new technologies in the classroom.
• Over 172,000 hours in training initiatives in Chile and Argentina.
• 100 Diaguita farmers have participated in agricultural training
and a further 120 in Diaguita artisanal crafts, as part of
programs to reinforce cultural identity.
September 2009 17
A BARRICK GOLD REPORT ON RESPONSIBLE MINING | B E YO N D B O R D E R S
An insider’s guide to
environmental management at Pascua-Lama
Pascua-Lama will operate based on industry-leading environ-
mental systems and safeguards. Environmental approval for
the project includes controls for the protection of the three ice
bodies in the vicinity of the project as well as water resources.
These safeguards, particularly the project’s multiple-barrier
water management system, were designed in consultation with
downstream water users. A dedicated team of environmental
and engineering professionals will manage the project, with
active involvement and monitoring by independent auditors,
government regulators and communities.
“The water coming out of the mountains in the project
area is not crystal clear,” said Bruce Mack, Pascua-Lama’s
environmental manager. “It is naturally acidic. Yet as it travels
further downstream into the river systems, it becomes diluted
and acceptable for irrigation treatment.” Mack
points out that Pascua-Lama will use untreated,
18
A SPECIAL REPORT ON PA SCUA-L AM A
lower quality water for its operations, diverting it from the
mixing zone, and thereby improving overall water quality
further downstream.
Water used in the processing of ore will be captured, recycled,
and re-used to minimize withdrawl of fresh water from the
Estrecho and Las Taguas river systems. The entire operation will
draw only about 0.5 per cent of the water in the Huasco River,
which flows into the Huasco Valley’s Santa Juana Reservoir.
That works out to about 42 liters per second, whereas river flow
is 3,800 to 4,580 liters per second. On the Argentinean side,
where the mine’s processing plant will be located and more water
is required, the operation has been permitted to draw about
six per cent of water from Las Taguas. Contact of other surface
and groundwater with operations will be minimized. As there
are no planned discharges to the environment, any water that
comes into contact with facilities will be captured, pumped to
treatment plants and re-used.
STRINGENT WATER PROTECTION PROGRAMS ARE A VITAL COMPONENT OF
BARRICK’S ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AT PASCUA-LAMA.
Communities monitoring water
Community participation in water monitoring has already begun
at Pascua-Lama. This program, implemented successfully at the
company’s other mines in South America, invites community
members to take water samples and select an independent
laboratory to conduct tests on water quality. The goal is to
provide greater transparency and build trust within the community.
In Argentina, the activity is underway at the Veladero mine and is
being expanded to encompass Pascua-Lama. In Chile, the program
will be administered by an environmental oversight committee
comprised of government and community representatives,
supported by independent experts.
September 2009
A SPECIAL REPORT ON PA SCUA-L AM A
STRINGENT WATER MONITORING
Under approved water monitoring plans, monitoring starts
on the property on both sides of the border and continues 45
kilometers downstream in Chile and more than 100 kilometers
downstream in Argentina.
An extensive system of water monitoring will encompass both
surface and underground water levels to ensure water avail-
ability and quality remains the same or improves. In total, 87
water monitoring points have been identified to safeguard water
quality, 26 automated to provide real time reporting, with most
results instantly accessible to regulators and communities via the
web. In Chile, audits will be conducted by state authorities and
independent auditors to ensure compliance with stringent water
quality standards and laws. In Argentina, a participative moni-
toring program will involve authorities and the community.
“One of the most significant and innovative structures is a
cut-off wall that will be located at the headwater of the Estrecho
Harnessing wind power
Barrick has invested $70 million to build the Punta Colorada
wind farm project near Pascua-Lama, in the Coquimbo Region of
Chile. The renewable power project will feature 18 wind turbines
and inject 36 megawatts of energy into Chile’s power grid. The
large wind farm supports the Chilean government’s objective
of enhancing the generation of clean energy, while addressing
the country’s energy deficit. Pascua-Lama will draw all of its
electrical energy from suppliers to the grid. Barrick is currently
installing 20 megawatts in the first phase of the project.
ABOVE: WIND TURBINE BLADES IN TRANSIT TO THE PUNTA COLORADA WIND
FARM. RIGHT: THE RECLAIMED SITE OF THE FORMER EL INDIO MINE IN CHILE.
September 2009
River in Chile,” said Mack. “The wall will offer an added level
of protection by acting as a barrier to prevent water which may
come into contact with the operation from entering the river
system.”
OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES
In Argentina, the tailings ponds have been designed with an
impervious system of multiple barriers of protection to prevent
pond water from contacting groundwater. The operation’s
primary crusher will feed into underground ore passes and
then onto a conveyor belt tunnel, transporting ore downhill
over a distance of 4.7 kilometers to the process plant on the
Argentinean side of the operation. The short overland section
of the conveyor belt will also be enclosed. This minimizes dust
and particulate emissions into the atmosphere, and generates
clean electrical energy for operational use. Other dust control
measures include road watering and the choice of transportation
routes away from the ice bodies. All hazardous materials will
be managed in closed circuit systems featuring secondary
containment.
The El Indio Closure Precedent
When Barrick closed the El Indio mine in Chile in 2003, it was
determined to do it right.
To date, the company has spent $70 million on closure
activities, an unprecedented amount in that country. Barrick
worked with stakeholders and environmental authorities to
develop a closure plan, even though it was not required, since
the mine predates closure laws. The land was cleared and the
stark contours of the natural topography restored. Today, the
closure of El Indio is seen as a standard-setter for mine closure
in Chile.
19
A BARRICK GOLD REPORT ON RESPONSIBLE MINING | B E YO N D B O R D E R S A SPECIAL REPORT ON PA SCUA-L AM A

In Conversation:
Mark Rookes is senior project engineer at Pascua-Lama. For the past eight years he has

worked with world leading glaciologists and academic institutions to integrate their scientific

research and expertise into the project design. He discusses how the company is protecting ice

bodies at Pascua-Lama with Beyond Borders’ editor Nancy White.

What are the types of ice bodies that exist near Pascua-Lama?
Glaciologists classify smaller bodies of ice as “glaciarettes” or
ice reservoirs rather than traditional glaciers, which are much
larger and demonstrate movement. These smaller ice bodies are
formed as the result of wind-blown snow accumulated behind
shallow hills.
Pascua-Lama is located to the north of three of these ice
bodies, Toro 1, Toro 2 and Esperanza. They are about 10
hectares in size and consequently their contribution to water
resources in the Huasco Valley is considered to be insignificant.
In all, the Huasco Valley features some 112 ice bodies, 70 per
cent of which are like the three bodies near Pascua-Lama.
How will the company monitor the ice bodies near Pascua-
Lama?
We are putting in place what is very likely the most detailed,
localized glacier measurement program in the world. The
government-approved program has been developed to monitor
the physical conditions of these specific ice bodies and their
hydric role. It will involve continuous measurements over the
life of the mine, using sensors and remote cameras to detect
changes or variations on the ice surface, while comparing to
reference glaciers and ice bodies in the area. Scientific best
practice and protocols will guide us and we will be in continuous
communications with regulators.
Are Barrick’s exploration activities at Pascua-Lama responsible
for the retreat of glaciers or ice bodies in the region?
Glaciers in the central Andes have been reducing in size since
the 1950s. This is borne out in documented studies from third-
party experts. Smaller ice bodies have been retreating at a more
accelerated rate in terms of the percentage of area loss. Satellite
imagery documents this decline, which scientists attribute
primarily to climate change.
In fact, exploration associated with Pascua-Lama didn’t begin
until the 1990s. In 2005, CONAMA, Chile’s national environ-
mental authority, concluded that the company had operated in
accordance with all environmental permits and that it was not
possible to attribute glacier reduction to exploration activities.

MARK ROOKES, SENIOR PROJECT ENGINEER AT PASCUA-LAMA.

ESPERANZA TORO 2 TORO 1

20 September 2009