Barrick’s support for education securing better futures

Great Basin College in Elko, Nevada.

Education is a key building block for success, no matter where you live. It is a passport to a better future, and in places where economic opportunities are few, it can be a powerful tool in breaking the cycle of poverty. One of the most meaningful and lasting benefits that Barrick can provide to its host communities is support for education.

In 2011, we contributed $10 million to numerous educational initiatives across all areas that we operate. We helped support the construction of schools, provided classroom materials, such as books and computers, and funded teacher training, small business training and adult literacy programs.

In addition, in the past five years Barrick has contributed more than $19 million for scholarships alone, helping more than 18,000 students achieve their potential. This funding includes support for special scholarship programs for indigenous peoples that live near our operations, such as the Wiradjuri in Australia, the Diaguita in Chile and the Western Shoshone in Nevada.

Below are some examples of Barrick and African Barrick Gold’s (ABG) recent and ongoing support for education.

Tanzania

• Barrick, ABG and their partners have invested several million dollars in the construction of 13 schools in communities near ABG’s operations.
• Funding has been committed for refurbishing and building an additional 13 schools in communities near ABG’s North Mara mine.

United States

• Recently pledged $1.2 million over three years to Great Basin College in Elko, Nevada. The funds will be directed toward the college’s vocational programs, student housing and an expansion of training programs at the college’s campus in Winnemucca, Nevada.
• Donated $50,000 in Nevada to the non-profit Public Education Foundation to help launch a state-wide academy to train school principals in leadership.

Australia

• Donated $45,000 to Life Education Australia’s Mobile Learning Centre. The Life Education program provides health and lifestyle education to primary school children who live near the Cowal mine.

Canada

• Donated $285,000 to Lakehead University and the Northern Ontario School of Medicine in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The funds supported the creation of new scholarships, an infrastructure upgrade to a local hospital and several other initiatives that will contribute to learning and health care in northern Ontario.

Peru

• Investing more than $900,000 a year to implement educational programs aimed at improving mathematics learning and reading comprehension capabilities of more than 45,000 elementary school children.

Chile

• Provided construction materials, and employees from the Zaldívar mine and Pascua-Lama project donated their time, to repair and update a library room at a local school.