Mining major Barrick Gold will soon launch Phase 7 of its life extension project at Veladero, in Argentina, with an investment in the range of $140-million, CEO Mark Bristow has said.

The Phase 7 project, which will generate 640 construction jobs, consists of the new Veladero leach valley.

The company recently completed the Phase 6 heap leach facility, which has helped to keep the Veladero mine, a joint venture with Shandong Gold, ahead of its production forecast of 260 000 oz to 300 000 oz for the year.

Bristow said that Barrick prioritised the employment and training of host country nationals and that 99% of its workforce were Argentine citizens, with 90% from the province of San Juan itself.

“We’re now also focusing on increasing the recruitment of women in what has traditionally been a male-dominated industry. Fifteen of the 24 participants in Veladero’s current technical training programme are women and a further 17 are being trained as truck drivers,” he said.

Bristow was speaking at the signing of an agreement with San Juan governor Sergio Uñac for the establishment of a trust fund for community development projects.

The connection of Veladero, a 50:50 joint venture with Shandong Gold, to Chile's national power grid will be completed this month. This will help trim the mine’s greenhouse-gas emissions in line with Barrick’s global reduction targets of 30% by 2030 and net zero by 2050.

Meanwhile, Barrick also reported that the plant expansion and tailings storage facility project at Pueblo Viejo, in Dominican, continued to progress. The project is designed to extend the mine life to 2040 and beyond.

So far, this year, the mine had paid $522-million in direct and indirect taxes, which brings its total tax payments since it went into commercial production in 2013 to just under $3-billion. The extension of its life means that it would continue to be a major creator of value for the Dominican Republic and its people far into the future.

Of the mine’s 2 500 employees, 97% are Dominicans, many drawn from its surrounding communities which have all benefited substantially from its investment in upliftment programmes.

Bristow also said that Pueblo Viejo’s management had been very successful in addressing the environmental liabilities left by the mine’s former operator, significantly improving the water quality of the two nearby rivers.

“Our goal in the Dominican Republic, as elsewhere in the world, is to create long-term value for our stakeholders through our strategy of sustainable development. Pueblo Viejo’s expansion project has the potential to double the enormous contribution it has already made to the Dominican Republic’s economy. Without this project, however, that contribution could end soon,” he said.