By CHARITY MOONGA-

BARRICK Gold Corporation, the owner of Lumwana Mining Company in Solwezi, says it contributed a total of US$9.7 billion to the economies of the host countries including Zambia.
The $9.7 billion includes $6.6 billion in the purchase of national goods and services.
According to the company’s 2014 report, about $1.1 billion was paid in taxes and royalties, and $2.0 billion in wages and benefits.
“We invested more than $54 million in community development initiatives and programs to improve health, education, and infrastructure,” Barrick says in the report.
The company has also contributed more than $31 million for scholarships in the past eight years, creating important educational opportunities for more than 26,000 students around the world.
The company’s Local Procurement Standard, implemented in 2014, helps Barrick integrate local suppliers into its broader procurement systems, diversifying local economies and lowering the company’s costs for goods and services.
“While last year was a time of fundamental change at Barrick, one thing that has not and will not change is our unwavering commitment to mining responsibly,” says Peter Sinclair, Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs.
Barrick sourced nearly 20 per cent of its electrical power, both self-generated and purchased, from renewable energy sources in 2014.
Nearly one-quarter of water used in 2014 was derived from saline or brackish sources, and more than 60 percent of the company’s operations are zero discharge sites where most water is recycled and reused.
Since 2009, more than one million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions had since been saved through Barrick’s energy reduction programmes.