PUEBLO VIEJO

Environmental Remediation and Water Treatment Fact Sheet

At the Pueblo Viejo mine in the Dominican Republic, Barrick is remediating significant environmental damage left behind by a previous
mining operation at the site, which closed in 1999 with no proper environmental reclamation.
Before Barrick’s arrival, highly acidic, untreated water was seeping from the old mine site into local rivers. Today, all water from our operations
is safely treated at a water treatment plant on site before being discharged into the Margajita River.River Water processed on site is treated in
accordance with Dominican government mining standards and International Finance Corporation (IFC) guidelines. The treatment process is
closely monitored and controlled, and has already resulted in a vast improvement in the condition of the Margajita River. The river is returning
to its natural color after flowing dark red for decades due to acid rock drainage (ARD) that was not properly treated by the mine’s previous
operator. Sampling shows a marked decrease in the acidity of the river and there are early signs that aquatic life is returning to the river.

Background
Margajita River today
 Barrick acquired a majority interest in Pueblo Viejo in 2006 and
manages operations at the mine through Pueblo Viejo Dominicana
Corporation (PVDC), a joint venture in which Barrick holds a 60
percent interest, with Goldcorp holding the remaining 40 percent.
 The previous operator of Pueblo Viejo closed the operation in
1999 without proper environmental remediation, leaving a legacy
of polluted soil and water.
q
 After acquiringg control of Pueblo Viejo,
j , PVDC assumed
responsibility for environmental remediation of areas within the
mine development boundary. Before restoration
 The Dominican government retained responsibility for remediation
of areas outside the mine development boundary, including the
Cumba and Hondo areas and tailings storage facilities built by the
previous operator, such as the Mejita and Las Lagunas tailings dams.
 Before Barrick’s water treatment plant began operating, the
Margajita River’s pH, a measure of acidity, typically measured in
the 2.5 range, meaning the water was highly acidic.
 The Margajita also lost its natural color, turning a dark red,
reflecting the high acidity level and metal content in the water.
 Today, the Margajita has returned to its natural color and its pH
level has increased significantly, measuring in the 7.0-8.5 range at
the point where treated water is discharged into the river.
Concurrent reclamation uses biodegradable coconut fibre
mats from a local women’s cooperative to control soil erosion.

Barrick’s Clean-Up Efforts

 Since acquiring control of Pueblo Viejo, PVDC has re-vegetated
3,500 hectares of land, built a large water treatment plant to treat
water on site before discharging it into the Margajita River and,
acting as an agent of the government, removed 180,000 cubic
meters of contaminated soil left from prior operations.
 PVDC also agreed to provide $75 $ million to fund the clean-up of
historical liabilities that are the responsibility of the Dominican
government. The management plan for the clean-up phase is
currently awaiting government approval.

Pueblo Viejo – Environmental Remediation and Water Treatment Fact Sheet Page 1
 Water Treatment and Sampling
 Water that comes into contact with ore stockpiles and waste rock on PVDC’s facilities is
contained on site by a series of canals, channels and sedimentation ponds that funnel the
water into two large storage ponds.
 One of the ponds is lined with high density polyethylene to prevent seepage and can store
up to 620,000 cubic meters of water. The other has a clay base that serves as a natural
insulant and a storage capacity of 400,000 cubic meters.
 From the ponds, the water is pumped to the water treatment plant. The three-phase
treatment process involves the use of limestone slurry, pure oxygen and limewater to
remove trace metals and restore the water’s pH level.
 Approximately 40,000 cubic meters of water is treated daily at the plant, and the process
is closely monitored and controlled using state-of-the-art technology.
 Water samples are collected every 10 minutes and composites of those samples are
analyzed twice daily at an on-site laboratory.
 Samples are also collected weekly from the discharge point where treated water is released
into the Margajita River.
 The samples are tested for pH level and for the presence of cyanide, as well as five
different metals, including copper, iron, mercury, lead and zinc.
 State audits of the Pueblo Viejo operation, including the water treatment process, are conducted regularly, and independent consultants
representing the project's lenders visit the mine three times a year to ensure the site’s environmental management system and other
site procedures are aligned with IFC guidelines.

Community Water Monitoring

 Water samples are also collected on a quarterly basis
from various points downstream in the Margajita River,
including the river delta.
 To increase transparency and help build trust in host
communities, in 2012 Pueblo Viejo began inviting local
communities to participate in these quarterly sampling
events.
 Participants spend three full days collecting samples,
which are sent to an independent certified laboratory in
Canada or Puerto Rico for analysis.
 To date, seven sampling events have taken place and
g
results have shown a significant improvement
p in water
quality.

 Initially, a small group of people from six communities agreed to participate, but the program has since expanded to 37 representatives
from 18 communities. These communities include: Las Tres Bocas, Zinc, Hoja Ancha, Las Cruces, Jobo Claro, Barrio Acapulco de Cotui,
Laja, El Maricao, Dos Palmas, Hatillo, Municipio de Piedra Blanca, Guardianón, La Placeta, Quita Sueño, Sabana del Rey, El Rayo,
Zambrana and Arroyo Vuelta.
 In addition, participants in recent sampling events included government officials from the province of Monseñor Nouel and the city of
Cotui.

Pueblo Viejo – Environmental Remediation and Water Treatment Fact Sheet Page 2
Downstream Tributaries
 The Margajita River is fed by several tributaries, some of which are impacted by naturally occurring ARD due to the presence of sulfide
in the rocks, as well as ARD from historic mining operations.
 While Barrick monitors downstream water quality in the Margajita together with local communities, the company is not responsible for
treating downstream water or the tributaries that feed this section of the river, as these areas fall well outside the mine development
boundary.
 However, the overall condition of the Margajita River has improved dramatically because the volume of water being treated at Pueblo
Viejo and discharged into the river greatly exceeds the volume of water entering the river from the tributaries.

Margajita River

Cyanide use at Pueblo Viejo

 Barrick did not begin using cyanide at Pueblo Viejo until the summer of 2012.
 All cyanide used in processing goes through a cyanide destruction circuit before tailings are deposited in the mine’s tailings storage
facility.
 Pueblo Viejo is designed to comply with the International Cyanide Management Code and is in the process of being certified. The code
sets out stringent
g environmental and employee
p y best practices
p for all aspects
p of the cyanide
y life-cycle,
y , including
g manufacturing,
g,
transportation, use and disposal.
 Companies that adopt the code commit to having their operations audited by an independent third party and meeting all code
requirements.

About Pueblo Viejo

 Pueblo Viejo is located in the Dominican Republic, approximately 100 kilometers northwest of the capital Santo Domingo. Barrick
acquired its 60 percent interest in the mine in 2006 and operates the mine.
mine Goldcorp holds the other 40 percent
percent. Construction of the
Pueblo Viejo mine involved an investment of nearly $4 billion, the largest foreign investment in the history of the Dominican Republic.
The mine achieved commercial production in January 2013.

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