Barrick Gold: Conociendo la chica mala de esta historia

Barrick Gold Corporation es una empresa que tiene operaciones en 4 continentes. En Norteamérica tiene minas en Canadá -algunas actualmente en proceso de cierre- y Estados Unidos, donde posee el yacimiento Goldstrike. Asimismo, en Sudamérica tiene proyectos en Perú (Pierina); en Chile, una mina en proceso de cierre (El Indio) y el proyecto Pascua Lama, mientras que en Argentina tiene un proyecto en fase de construcción que se llama Veladero, que está estimada que entre en producción a fines del presente año. Por su parte, en Africa tiene dos minas en Tanzania, mientras que en Australia posee cinco yacimientos. En exploración, Barrick tiene alrededor de 110 proyectos en 16 países.


Seguimos con info de la página oficial (en inglés):
Barrick Gold Corporation is the gold industry leader, with interests in 26 operating mines and a pipeline of projects located across five continents, in addition to large land positions on some of the most prolific mineral districts. The Company has:

The gold industry’s only ‘A’ rated balance sheet;
The gold industry’s largest unhedged production and reserves;
Two advanced projects in construction that, with Cortez Hills, are expected to collectively contribute 2.4 million ounces of low cost average annual production at full capacity; and
An unwavering commitment to safe and responsible mining.
Barrick generated $2.9 billion in adjusted operating cash flow in 2009. As at December 31, 2009, the Company had $2.6 billion in cash and a $1.5 billion undrawn line of credit.

With the industry’s largest production of 7.4 million ounces in 2009 and its largest reserves of 139.8 million ounces, Barrick offers investors exceptional leverage to higher gold prices. The Company also has 6.1 billion pounds of copper reserves and 1.06 billion ounces of contained silver within gold reserves as at December 31, 2009.
Barrick is committed to sustainable economic development, environmental stewardship and a culture of safety. Barrick was added to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index – World in 2009 for the second consecutive year and maintained its listing on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index – North America for the third year in a row.
In 2009, Barrick produced 7.42 million ounces of gold at cash costs of $466 per ounce (net cash costs of $363 per ounce). In addition, the Company produced 393 million pounds of copper at a total cash cost of $1.17 per pound. For 2010, Barrick expects higher gold production of 7.6–8.0 million ounces and copper production of 340-365 million pounds. Total cash costs for gold are expected to be lower than 2009 at $425- $455 per ounce and total cash costs for copper are expected to be $1.10-$1.20 per pound.

Barrick shares are traded on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges.

Pascua-Lama


Straddling the border of Argentina and Chile, the Pascua-Lama project is located in the Frontera district at an elevation of 3,800 to 5,200 metres, approximately 10 kilometres from Barrick’s Veladero mine. The Pascua-Lama project has strong bi-national government support and strong support from local citizens and regional stakeholders in both countries. One of Barrick’s objectives is to help the people in the region find ways to grow their economy, skills and infrastructure for long-term benefit. As a result, this large, long-life mine also is expected to offer jobs and community development in the region for many years to come.
Barrick announced a go-ahead decision on construction of Pascua-Lama on May 7, 2009. As of February 2010, about 90% of the detailed engineering work had been completed. Major earthworks on the Chilean side are advancing, the portal for the tunnel which provides access for the shipment of ore between Chile and Argentina has been established and the Barreales camp has about 500 people currently on site. In Argentina, contracts for early earthworks site preparation have mobilized to site. Over 25% of the capital has been committed, securing the mining fleet, processing mills, camp accommodation and earthworks contractors. The project remains in line with its pre-production capital budget of $2.8-$3.0 billion and is on schedule to enter production in the first quarter of 2013.

Pascua-Lama has proven and probable reserves of 17.8 million ounces of gold, with 671 million ounces of silver contained within the gold reserves1. With an estimated mine life of more than 25 years, average annual production is expected to be 750,000-800,000 ounces of gold in the first full five years of operation at total cash costs of $20-$50 per ounce2 (assuming a silver price of $12 per ounce), making Pascua-Lama one of the lowest cost gold mines in the world.
 
Más información en:
http://www.noalamina.org/mineria-latinoamerica/mineria-chile/mover-900-mil-ms-de-glaciares-no-afecta-en-nada