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All amounts in US dollars
KIBALI, Democratic Republic of Congo, March 25, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Barrick Gold Corporation GOLD ABX – Since Kibali went into production 10 years ago it has not only grown into Africa’s largest gold mine, it has also opened a new mining frontier in the DRC and stimulated the development of a thriving regional economy in the country’s North-East province, says Mark Bristow, Barrick president and chief executive.
Speaking at a media visit to Kibali today, Bristow said the mutually beneficial partnership between the company and its local stakeholders, notably the government, contractors, service providers, employees and the community, had demonstrated that it was possible to build and operate a successful, world-class mine, run by host country nationals in one of Africa’s remotest corners.
In the 13 years since the acquisition of the property which became Kibali, it has invested more than $4.6 billion in the DRC, with payments to: local contractors and suppliers alone amounting to almost $2.4 billion; $1.4 billion going to the government in the form of royalties, taxes and permits; salaries amounting to $621 million; and the investment of $196 million in infrastructure development and community support.
“Kibali has multiple partnerships with local businesses, many of which we have actively mentored, such as the all-Congolese team that built the mine’s Azambi hydropower station,” Bristow said.
“Kibali’s three continuously upgraded hydropower stations and their battery back-up system have put it in the lead of the Barrick group’s green energy drive. At present, approximately 80% of the mine’s power requirement is provided by renewable energy sources and this will rise when the planned new solar plant is commissioned in 2025, further reducing Kibali’s carbon footprint as well as its costs.”
For the fourth successive year, exploration more than replaced the gold that Kibali mined in 2022, extending the mine’s Tier One1 production profile…
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