Indigenous Peoples

Barrick respects the connection that Indigenous peoples have to the traditional lands where they live and use for their livelihoods and cultural heritage. We recognize that our activities can have both positive and negative impacts on the land and neighbouring communities. We have a responsibility to avoid, mitigate or minimize the negative impacts our activities may have on Indigenous communities, and maximize the sharing of benefits and socio-economic opportunities.

Barrick’s engagement with Indigenous peoples, wherever we operate, is based on honest, open dialogue and provision of information in a format that is accessible to them. For planning and design of mining projects, we take into consideration the priorities and concerns of Indigenous peoples directly affected by our activities. Our community relations teams around the world engage and consult with Indigenous peoples in a fair, timely and culturally appropriate manner throughout the project cycle. We work with Indigenous peoples directly affected by our activities to foster good faith negotiations, and strive to reach mutually beneficial agreements.

Relationships between mining companies and Indigenous peoples are multi-faceted and ever evolving. Constructive engagement between Barrick and Indigenous peoples can greatly benefit local communities, leading to improved infrastructure (e.g. access to clean water, power, roads), support for education and health services, cultural heritage preservation, employment and business opportunities, increased income flows through royalty streams and compensation payments, and environmental restoration and protection (e.g. through reforestation initiatives, improved fire management, etc.). Barrick promotes economic self reliance among Indigenous communities near our operations through employment opportunities, business enterprise support, economic diversification and where possible, through preferential contract consideration for Indigenous-owned suppliers. We strive to maximize the representation of Indigenous peoples in Barrick’s workforce, to help build their skills base, expand their career options and increase their economic participation in our activities.

Our most extensive and rewarding engagement with Indigenous peoples has been with the Wiradjuri Condobolin community near the Cowal mine in Australia; Western Shoshone tribes in rural Nevada; Diaguita communities of the Huasco Alto near our Pascua-Lama project in Chile; the Colla communities near our Cerro Casale project in Chile; the Aboriginal communities near the Granny Smith mine in Western Australia; the Tahltan First Nation at the recently closed Eskay Creek mine in British Columbia; Alaska Native communities neighbouring the Donlin Gold project; and the First Nation communities near the Hemlo mine in Ontario.

Agreements, Capacity Building and Cultural Preservation

First Nation Engagement in Ontario

At the Hemlo mine in northern Ontario, Canada, Barrick continues to fulfill the terms of the socioeconomic agreement signed with the Pic Mobert First Nation in 2008. The agreement creates new opportunities for the Pic Mobert people to develop skills for current and future mining opportunities, along with support for the development of First Nation-led businesses and involvement in environmental stewardship.

In the fall of 2010, Barrick, in collaboration with Anishinabek Employment and Training Services, Confederation College, Pic Mobert First Nation and Pic River First Nation launched the innovative Environmental Monitoring / Mining Essential Program for First Nation peoples living near the Hemlo mine and in the surrounding area. This program is the first of its kind in Canada and has proven to be very successful, with all graduates seeking employment at our Hemlo mine or at other mining contractors or companies.

The Environmental Monitoring / Mining Essential Program, along with ongoing environmental dialogue, lead us to the decision to employ First Nation environmental monitors at Hemlo. We currently have two environmental monitors in place, one from each local First Nation community. They are gaining an education at local colleges and engaging first hand with Hemlo’s environmental department in our sampling program and environmental monitoring system, and also participating in other aspects of our business.

Dialogue continues on a regular basis as we continue to discuss new opportunities for partnerships. We are pleased to be a part of the Suboxone program (a treatment program for drug-related dependencies) and we continue to focus on health and wellness initiatives which incorporate community well-being.

Through Hemlo’s lands and resource department, we are providing assistance to the First Nation communities in researching the traditional ecological knowledge of their established territory. This is an ongoing project that will continue through 2012. It is intended to provide the local First Nation communities with the expertise needed to research and collect this information.

Australian Aboriginal Communities

The Wiradjuri people are recognized as the traditional owners of the Lake Cowal area, near the Cowal mine in Australia. We worked collaboratively with the Wiradjuri Council of Elders and the Registered Native Title applicants to develop the Native Title Agreement (signed in 2003) and the Cultural Heritage Management Plan (CHMP). Under the terms of the Agreement, Barrick supports the Wiradjuri community in areas of environmental and cultural heritage, employment, training and education, and business development. As a result of the Agreement, the Wiradjuri Condobolin Corporation (WCC) was established to facilitate the business, education and employment opportunities for the Wiradjuri people.

The WCC established the Wiradjuri Cultural Heritage Company that Barrick has engaged to manage Wiradjuri heritage protection activities during the mine’s development and ongoing operation. The CHMP facilitated the development of a Ground Disturbance Procedure (GDP) for the Cowal mine. This GDP is a comprehensive process that facilitates Wiradjuri people visiting the site to complete on-the-ground assessments, ensuring no cultural heritage materials are damaged. At the height of the development activities, over sixty Wiradjuri cultural heritage field officers, working with qualified archaeologists, were responsible for identifying and preserving many artefacts found at the site. At completion of the mine’s operation, we are committed to work with the Wiradjuri cultural heritage officers and archaeologists to return the artefacts to culturally appropriate locations.

Also under the Agreement, the Wiradjuri Scholarship Program has supported a total of 17 young Wiradjuri people to attend university. In 2011, five scholarships were awarded in collaboration with the WCC. Cowal’s total investment in the Wiradjuri scholarships to date is approximately $65,000. This investment has supported education in the fields of teaching, nursing, human movement and exercise science, community service, media and communication and aged care.

The Wiradjuri Traineeship Program, launched in 2010, is aimed at building the capacity of young Wiradjuri people living in the local community. The program was expanded in 2011 through the development of partnerships with local industry. Cowal’s partnership with the Lachlan Catchment Management Authority lead to the employment of a local Wiradjuri trainee, who completed a Certificate III program in Land Management. We plan to develop additional partnerships with local industries in 2012 to further grow the program.

Cross-cultural understanding is an important element for encouraging employment opportunities for Indigenous peoples at our sites and for fostering a culturally-sensitive work environment for Indigenous and non-Indigenous employees. Through the Wiradjuri Cultural Heritage Company, a comprehensive cultural heritage induction course is provided for all new Barrick employees and contractors at the Cowal mine. The training is designed to help employees and contractors understand the issues linked to Indigenous peoples and assist them in understanding the importance of the partnership with the Wiradjuri people, to the Cowal mine’s ongoing operations.

The Wiradjuri Study Centre (WSC), opened in September 2011. The WSC is an inclusive centre that aims to develop culturally appropriate socio-economic opportunities for Wiradjuri people through employment and training programs. See the Partnerships section for more information.

Barrick has also developed strong relationships with Aboriginal communities near the Granny Smith mine in Western Australia. The mine joined forces with community leaders and two other nearby gold mining companies in 1997 to create the Leonora Laverton Leonora Cross Cultural Association (LLCCA). The prime purpose of the LLCCA is to provide, promote and enhance the employment, training, economic development and retention of Indigenous peoples in the North Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia. The association was founded as a coordinated regional approach and includes government (state and local) involvement. The LLCCA has four facilities, an art gallery, a classroom equipped with computers, a workshop and an office to support local people in training and job searches. The art gallery trades locally produced artefacts and craft work, paintings, silk scarves and bush medicine. It operates on a non-profit basis to support the local Aboriginal communities. The LLCCA also employs and manages the Laverton Patrol, which is a support network for the local police.

The Diaguita Community

In Chile, the Diaguita community is highly concentrated in the Alto del Carmen municipality near the Pascua-Lama project. Throughout 2011, we continued to advance sustainable development initiatives that benefit Diaguita communities, including a sustainable farming program and a livestock improvement program which supports families dependant on crianceros (livestock, typically goats). This program ensures access to the Diaguita’s shepherding areas, which is an important part of their traditional life style. We also provided in-kind technical assistance to help the Diaguita access funding from the National Corporation for Indigenous Development, which supports cultural preservation efforts for traditional loom weavers of El Carmen Valley – Las Breas region. These cultural preservation projects complemented the Diaguita Ancestral Recovery Program (Rescate Ancestral Diaguita) which Barrick has supported for many years.

Colla Communities

In 2011, Barrick reached two consultation agreement protocols with the Colla communities located near the Cerro Casale project in Chile; the Colla Community of Jorquera River and the Pai Ote Colla Community. The consultation agreements are based on ILO Convention No. 169. Article 6 provides a guideline as to how consultation with Indigenous people should be conducted: it should be undertaken through appropriate processes, in good faith and through the representative institutions of the community. The community members should have the opportunity to participate freely at all levels. These agreements allow for a consultation and engagement process in both communities which is resulting in increased participation by community members. Independent consulting firms were retained to provide support for the Colla communities as they review Cerro Casale’s Environmental Impact Assessment.

Alaska Natives

At the Donlin Gold project in southwestern Alaska, we have a land lease agreement with the Calista Corporation, an Alaska Native corporation, which has the sub-surface land rights as per the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) of 1971. The agreement provides Calista with royalties, employment, scholarships and preferential contract considerations for supplier companies owned by Calista Natives. Donlin Gold also has a land lease agreement with the Kuskokwim Corporation which has surface land rights (as per ANCSA), and is working with the Kuskokwim Corporation to finalize an amendment and extension to that agreement to make it better align with a recent amendment to the agreement with the Calista Corporation.

Throughout 2011, the Donlin Gold project team continued their extensive meetings with community members from 56 remote native villages in the Yukon- Kuskokwim (YK) region of Southwest Alaska, and 14 villages in the neighbouring Doynon region. These communities need to be addressed as individual cultural and Indigenous entities. Not all speak the same language; some are very isolated. Insufficient education, job skills, and employment opportunities can hinder the ability of job seekers from these communities to find work. Dealing with substance abuse is also a critical issue, as is helping employees plan for leaving home at each job rotation. To address these issues the Donlin project conducted cultural sensitivity training for both Alaska Native and non-Native employees. Worker rotation was adjusted, so employees could return to their villages more frequently. A counsellor is now on-site to help employees deal with family stress and substance abuse issues, and to teach skills such as forward planning.

Donlin developed a partnership with the Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and the State of Alaska to conduct a Health Impact Assessment which was initiated in 2010. The community health baseline report was completed at the end of January 2011, and the impact assessment will commence once a proposed project is formalized through submission of federal and state permits, expected by the mid-year, 2012. Some additional primary data collection activities have just received final Institutional Review Board approval and will begin in March 2012. These include hair sampling for mercury baseline data and survey data collection from local grocery stores.

At this early stage of the project, the Donlin team are dedicating significant resources to study the subsistence traditions and cultural heritage of the YK region, including funding Traditional Knowledge Harvest Surveys in conjunction with the State of Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Subsistence. Phase one was completed in 2011, phase two is underway and phase three is in the planning stage. Each phase studies eight communities, for a total of 24 communities by the conclusion of the third phase. This research will provide baseline information about contemporary subsistence uses of fish, wildlife and plant resources, and traditional knowledge about these resources along the Kuskokwim and Yukon Rivers. Traditional knowledge documentation will focus on identifying what resources are harvested, from where and when they are harvested. Systematic documentation of this information will help to address long-term data gaps in the Kuskokwim River area regarding the role of wild resources in the lives of residents of the area. This information may also be used as part of the NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) review of the proposed Donlin Gold project. Each community surveyed must have the approval of the local governing bodies before the research begins and the community has the opportunity to review the data and analysis prior to finalization.

In 2011, a $10,000 contribution was made to the Bering Sea Elders Advisory Group (BSEAG), which brings our total donation over the past three years to $50,000. The BSEAG’s mission is to enable the coastal tribes to fully participate in the federal fishery management process affecting their area. Its goal is to achieve policy outcomes that protect subsistence use areas from bottom trawling impacts, including habitat disruption, overharvesting and salmon by-catch. One of the most pressing issues before the BSEAG in the near term is where the North Pacific Fishery Management Council will decide to set the northern boundary for the commercial factory trawlers. We are pleased to support such important policy work. The BSEAG mission falls within the parameters of all three of our primary community investment funding categories: environmental, subsistence/cultural, and community wellness.

The Donlin team continues to travel to about 30 villages per year to provide a project update and projected project timeline. The presentation is now provided in the Yup’ik language for the communities that request it, which has been a tremendous benefit in explaining such things as tailings and mercury controls. We also provide project site tours to Donlin Gold for community leaders from about 20 villages per summer. In 2011, five groups of regional stakeholders toured Barrick projects in Montana and Nevada to see modern open pit mining operations.

The Western Shoshone

Barrick has a long record of constructive engagement with the Western Shoshone people of the western United States. Barrick is the only large private organization providing significant benefits to the Shoshone communities of central and eastern Nevada. Since 2005, quarterly dialogue meetings with Western Shoshone tribal leaders and community representatives have included senior company managers, including the President of Barrick’s North America Regional Business Unit, who has attended every meeting since 2006. All Western Shoshone are welcome at these meetings. The Tribal communities take turns hosting the meetings and develop each agenda in collaboration with Barrick representatives.

As a result of this constructive engagement, a Collaborative Agreement between Barrick and the leaders of four Western Shoshone Tribes was signed in 2008. The South Fork and Wells Bands of the Te-Moak Tribe signed in 2011. The Agreement has led to increased economic and employment opportunities for Western Shoshone people. The Agreement also established the Western Shoshone Educational Legacy Fund, which now valued at $2 million and is funding the higher education of dozens of Shoshone students of all ages, who are now attending universities and colleges throughout the United States. More than 110 scholarships were awarded in 2011. The Legacy Fund has paid out more than $780,000 to date and will continue to grow to serve future generations. It is expected to reach $7 to 10 million over the next several years.

In 2011, we continued our efforts to increase Western Shoshone employment at Barrick operations. A Western Shoshone consultant was hired in 2009 to recruit potential employees in remote Shoshone communities, providing coaching on filling out job applications, interview training and clearly outlining the expectations of employment at Barrick. This outreach work continues with the development of in-house resources and recruiting staff. Through this program, all self-identified Native Americans are guaranteed an interview for employment with Barrick. We have hired approximately 40 Shoshone people over the past two to three years.

In 2010, Barrick established a Western Shoshone Cultural Advisory Group (WSCAG) to provide input on early stage mining projects and operations. The WSCAG is comprised of elders and members of several Western Shoshone tribes and meets monthly. This group also provides another forum for shared understanding between Barrick employees and the Western Shoshone, and will continue into the future.

As we have for many years, Barrick supported cultural preservation and community initiatives benefiting Western Shoshone tribes in rural Nevada during 2011. These include the Summer Youth Employment Program for tribal youth of both the Duckwater Shoshone and Yomba Shoshone Tribes, Adult Basic Education classes provided by Great Basin College for the Duck Valley Shoshone-Paiute Tribe, and Duck Valley/Owyhee Combined School’s efforts to preserve the Shoshone language program in this public school. Owyhee is the only public school in Nevada that offers instruction in the Shoshone language. In 2010/2011, the Ely Shoshone Elders’ Center was constructed with $198,000 in funding from Barrick. The Center is a partnership between Barrick and Western Shoshone communities and will enable the Ely tribe to provide a range of social services to a growing number of Shoshone elders in the community. The project also created much-needed employment for tribal members. The building was dedicated on February 17, 2012.

Barrick has been the primary supporter of the University of Utah Shoshone Language Preservation Program, contributing over $840,000 to this program over the last five years.

The Tahltan First Nation

Throughout the life of the Eskay Creek mine in Canada, Barrick demonstrated a commitment to corporate social responsibility and to creating a positive legacy for the Tahltan First Nation and the communities where employees lived and worked. This commitment has been sustained throughout closure and will continue for years to come.

The Eskay Creek mine operated from 1994 to 2008 – the site is located in north western British Columbia in the region identified as the traditional territory of the Tahltan First Nation. The Tahltan First Nation is comprised of the Tahltan Indian Bands and the Iskut First Nation. Throughout its operational history, the relationship between the Eskay Creek mine and the Tahltan First Nation was collaborative and positive, focusing on employment and training for local communities and on economic opportunities for local contractors. While the mine was in operation, 34 percent of employees were First Nations and, since closure, all long term contractors are hired through the Tahltan Nation Development Corporation (TNDC), which represents 25 percent of the current work force. During its operation, the mine contributed over $130 million to local communities through wages and donations to community initiatives.

Barrick made it a priority at Eskay Creek to hire Tahltan members and provide skills training and subsidies to support the creation of Tahltan-led businesses. A Collaborative Agreement was signed in 2004 by the Tahltan and Iskut Bands, the Tahltan Central Council, and Barrick. Barrick provided financing to the TNDC and helped with support in later years. This initiative, along with social programs to benefit the community, was included in the Collaborative Agreement. In 2008, Barrick contributed $1 million to the Tahltan First Nation, which helped support the establishment of a Community Wellness Centre. In 2011, we continued to support the Tahltan First Nation by making a $500,000 donation to the Iskut Community Centre Renovation Project. Throughout the life of the mine, Barrick contracted TNDC for access road maintenance and haulage of both backfill and waste rock disposal. Spatsizi-Sodexho, a Tahltan joint venture, provided catering and housekeeping services. During the closure phase, TNDC and additional private Tahltan owner/operators have provided equipment for a long haul clean-up project from Kitwanga to Albino Lake. In the coming years, TNDC will continue to participate with on site requirements such as road maintenance, reclamation, labour and, material movement. Since closure in 2008, TNDC has received over $1 million in contracts from Eskay Creek.