Our Products

Barrick’s main product is gold. Silver and copper are recovered as secondary products at some operations. In addition, our Zaldívar operation in Chile and Osborne operation in Australia are copper mines.

The Company sells its production through three primary distribution channels:

• in the gold spot market
• under gold sales contracts between Barrick and various third parties,
• or to independent refiners of gold, silver and copper concentrates.

Once refined, these metals are stable (they do not react) in the environment. Gold and silver are non-hazardous metals; copper, although necessary for biological functioning, may be hazardous to plants and animals if ingested in large amounts.

Gold

Gold has been used as jewelry for over 6,000 years and its value as an adornment and token of affection remains strong. In some societies, gold jewelry is used as a family store of wealth in addition to adornment. Gold functions as an inflation hedge, an effective portfolio diversifier and a currency reserve.

While jewelry and investment continue to be the primary uses of gold, thanks to its unique metallurgical properties, gold is at work saving and improving lives through its role in medical innovations, the computer industry, the transportation and aerospace industries and communications.

Among the many uses of gold are:

• Lasers used for delicate medical procedures
• Critical electronic circuitry for vehicle air-bags and telecommunication equipment
• Pharmaceutical applications
• Dentistry

Because of its high value, gold has been recycled through the ages. It is estimated that over 85 percent of all gold historically mined is still in circulation. Additional information about gold is available at www.gold.org.

Silver

Silver is produced as a secondary product at many Barrick operations. Silver has a number of unique properties including its strength, malleability and ductility, its electrical and thermal conductivity and the ability to endure extreme temperature ranges. These properties make it a valuable element in our modern lives. Demand for silver comes from industrial uses, photography, jewelry and silverware. Together, these categories represent more than 95 percent of global annual silver consumption. Industrial and photographic silver are the most important sources of silver recycling. Additional information about silver is available at http://minerals.usgs.gov.

Copper

Copper is produced as a secondary product at the Bulyanhulu mine in Tanzania and as the main product at the Zaldívar mine in Chile and Osborne mine in Australia. Copper is a critical component in electronic equipment, in building construction and transportation equipment. Along with gold and silver, copper is also used in jewelry design.

Naturally occurring levels of copper are not harmful to the environment or to animals. In fact, metabolisms of animals and humans require a certain level of copper to maintain good health. The amount of copper found in the human body is tiny, but it plays a critical role in a variety of biochemical processes However, chronic exposure to excessive amounts of copper can cause liver and brain damage in animals, hence it is important to monitor copper concentrations. We routinely monitor the copper concentrations in the environment (groundwater, air and/or soils) at our three copper mines.

Copper can easily lay claim to being one of the planet's most versatile materials. Nearly all of the 700 billion pounds of copper ever mined (of an estimated 5.8 trillion pounds yet to be unearthed) is still in circulation. Scientists, metallurgists and product developers are continually discovering new and beneficial effects that copper and copper applications have on our environment

Current recycling rates for copper average over 85 percent. In fact, copper’s recycling rate is higher than that of any other engineering metal. Additional information about copper is available at http://minerals.usgs.gov.