Toronto – Reducing emissions to counter the causes of climate change requires strong collective action by the mining industry, Barrick president and chief executive Mark Bristow says.
Bristow hailed today’s collective commitment by the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) to a goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 in line with the recommendations of the Paris Agreement and said it represented an integrated approach that struck the right balance between environmental, social and economic needs. Barrick is a member of the ICMM and its Climate Change Advisory Group.
“Barrick already has a clear scientifically based emission reduction roadmap which targets a 30% cut by 2030 against our 2018 baseline and a net zero outcome by 2050, in line with ICMM’s goal,” Bristow said.
The company’s group sustainability executive, Grant Beringer, said a series of carbon-reducing initiatives was already being implemented across Barrick’s global operations. At Nevada Gold Mines (NGM), the world’s largest gold producing complex, which is operated and majority-owned by Barrick, these included projects such as the construction of a new solar power plant and the conversion of the TS power plant from coal to natural gas. These projects will support NGM’s transition from coal power to a dual energy solution which will reduce the complex’s carbon emissions by as much as 50%.