Energy

Responsible energy use benefits the company's bottom line, the environment and the communities where we operate, and involves an ongoing focus on the efficiency of our operations. Our energy comes mainly from fossil fuels and purchased electricity. We also source power from our renewable energy projects which include solar farms, biodiesel and wind power projects. We report on 100 percent of energy and fuels at our wholly-owned operations, our joint ventures where we are the operator, and other sites and offices.

Direct Energy Consumption

Direct energy is energy that is produced and consumed by our company with the boundaries of our operations, projects, and offices. It includes fuels to run mobile equipment, to produce power and heat on-site and for Barrick owned aircraft, along with explosives used to mine the ore. We use large quantities of diesel, both to power our mining fleets and, in some cases, to generate on-site electricity. Over the past few years we have been sourcing more of our energy from renewables, including wind, solar power and biodiesel. In 2010, Barrick's direct energy consumption at our operations, joint ventures where we are the operator, and other sites and offices was 38.7 million gigajoules.

Purchased Energy Consumption

Purchased energy is energy that is produced outside the company’s boundaries, purchased by Barrick and consumed on our sites. Purchased energy can include electricity and steam; however, Barrick purchases only electricity, which is drawn from national grids in the countries where we operate. The total purchased electricity consumed by Barrick at our operations, joint ventures, and other sites in 2010 was 11.4 million gigajoules or 3.2 million megawatt hours.

Conservation and Energy Efficiency

Barrick is committed to reducing energy consumption; we are saving energy due to conservation and efficiency improvements. All operations have conducted energy self-assessments and have identified areas for improvement in energy consumption. Our regions are now setting energy efficiency targets. We have energy champions at our operations who promote energy efficiency projects and programs. These include energy awareness education, the use of solar powered water heating and high efficiency lighting at some of our mine camps, compressor controls, ventilation fan monitoring and fuel management programs.

Renewable Energy

As part of Barrick's efforts to become more energy efficient we are also working on innovative renewable energy strategies. Our growing investment in clean power has resulted in a number of initiatives. These include our jatropha biofuel project in Tanzania, our solar farm in Nevada, USA, and wind turbines in Chile and Argentina. We are looking for additional solar energy opportunities in the near future.

In 2010, 15 percent of our electrical power, both self-generated and purchased, was sourced from renewables.

Climate Change

Barrick understands that climate change is both a global and community concern. While uncertainties still exist as to the rate and magnitude of the impacts climate change will bring, these uncertainties should not delay effective action to counter the effects of this problem. In light of these risks, we must address the implications of climate change to protect our shareholders and society.

There are regulatory and physical risks related to climate change. These include the financial impact associated with legislation / regulation relating to emission levels and energy efficiency, along with significant risk to our energy supplies due to temperature changes, more frequent and severe weather, rising sea levels, increased drought and thawing permafrost. These physical changes could require more stringent design and construction standards to ensure our facilities can withstand severe weather events.

We have established an Energy Group which has been assisting our operations in assessing energy efficiency opportunities with the goal of implementing energy efficiency programs and alternative energy initiatives. To provide corporate oversight of these programs and to more directly address the issue of climate change, we developed a global climate change program in 2007. Implementation of the program has continued through 2010 and includes the development of a Climate Change Standard which has been introduced in all our regions. Regional goals and targets are now being developed. 2010 kicked off a study to better understand our exposure to climate change related energy uncertainties.

To ensure that potential financial risks associated with greenhouse gas emissions are considered in our economic decision-making, carbon emissions are being considered in all material decision-making. The evaluation of carbon emissions will depend on the type of decision being made. For acquisitions, environmental due diligence will include the calculation of a carbon footprint and the development of a carbon mitigation plan. For new projects, an energy study will be performed and will include optimization of project energy efficiencies, an assessment of carbon emissions associated with potential power supply options, the climate change-related risks and the development of a mitigation plan. This evaluation will promote consideration of energy alternatives to mitigate economic risks and minimize Barrick's carbon footprint. Our goal is twofold; to provide for Barrick's long-term competitiveness in a carbon-constrained economy, and to mitigate impacts.