Barrick Gold

Major Copper Expansion in Zambia

Official website: www.barrick.com

Mine Operations

• Lumwana
• Kibali

Overview

Barrick Gold is one of the world's largest gold mining companies and is making a transformative bet on Zambian copper through the Lumwana Super Pit expansion — a $2 billion project that will double copper production from approximately 120,000 tonnes to 240,000 tonnes per annum by 2028.

Lumwana Super Pit

The Super Pit represents one of the most significant mining investments in Zambian history. With a projected NPV of $3.9 billion at a 49% IRR (at $4.03/lb copper), and C1 costs of $1.85/lb placing it in the first quartile of the global cost curve, Lumwana would become one of the largest copper mines in the world. Barrick's investment is explicitly designed to leverage improving logistics infrastructure, including the potential Lobito Corridor Zambia extension.

Kibali Gold

In the DRC, Barrick operates Africa's largest gold mine at Kibali (45% Barrick, 45% AngloGold Ashanti, 10% DRC government). Kibali produced 688,000–755,000 ounces guidance for 2025. While not directly on the corridor's copper-cobalt route, Kibali represents Barrick's deep operational experience in the DRC.

ESG Profile

Barrick Gold's corridor presence through Lumwana copper and Kibali gold operations spans two corridor countries with distinct ESG profiles. The company's global ESG framework, shaped by its position as one of the world's largest gold producers, provides governance structures and reporting standards that generally exceed corridor averages. However, global frameworks do not automatically translate into local performance.

The Lumwana Super Pit expansion represents one of the most significant mine development decisions affecting the Zambian corridor zone. The expansion will extend the mine's life by decades and dramatically increase copper production, but it requires massive earthmoving, water management, and community engagement at a scale that tests the company's ESG commitment. Environmental impact assessment for the expansion must address cumulative impacts on a landscape already affected by decades of mining activity.

Kibali, operated as a joint venture with AngloGold Ashanti in northeastern DRC, faces ESG challenges distinct from the copper corridor. The mine's remote location, proximity to conflict-affected areas, and gold's association with artisanal mining and armed group financing create security and human rights dimensions that require specialised monitoring. Our assessment of Barrick's corridor ESG performance differentiates between its Zambian and DRC operations to reflect these distinct contexts.

Community and Environmental Record

Community relations at Lumwana reflect Zambia's relatively stronger governance framework for mining-community engagement. The mine's community development programmes, local employment practices, and environmental management benefit from Zambian regulatory oversight that, while imperfect, provides more systematic accountability than DRC equivalents. Our monitoring compares Barrick's Zambian performance against both regulatory requirements and international best practice, identifying where the company meets minimum standards versus where it demonstrates leadership.

Water management is the critical environmental issue at Lumwana. The mine's water consumption, discharge quality, and impact on downstream water availability for communities and agriculture require ongoing monitoring. The Super Pit expansion will increase water demand significantly. Our environmental monitoring at Lumwana focuses on water-related indicators as the most material environmental dimension for both the mine's operations and surrounding communities' livelihoods.

Corridor Logistics Strategy

Barrick's logistics strategy for its corridor operations reflects the broader mining industry calculus that drives corridor economics. The Lumwana Super Pit expansion will dramatically increase copper volumes requiring export, and the choice of export route — southern through South Africa, eastern through Mozambique, or western through the Lobito Corridor — depends on transport costs, reliability, and infrastructure capacity. Barrick's route decisions, given its production volumes, materially affect corridor utilisation rates and the economic viability of corridor infrastructure investments.

The company's Kibali gold operation in northeastern DRC currently exports through routes independent of the Lobito Corridor, but the mine's success demonstrates Barrick's capacity for large-scale mining in challenging DRC environments. Operational experience at Kibali — including community engagement in conflict-affected areas, security management under the Voluntary Principles, and environmental management in tropical forest ecosystems — provides relevant expertise for the broader corridor mining sector.

Global ESG Framework and Local Application

Barrick's global sustainability framework, guided by its public commitments to safety, environmental stewardship, and community partnership, provides governance structures that theoretically ensure consistent ESG performance across all operations. The framework includes internal audit mechanisms, key performance indicators, and executive accountability for sustainability outcomes. Our assessment evaluates whether this global framework translates into effective local performance at corridor operations or whether the gap between corporate policy and site-level practice remains significant.

The company's transparency through annual sustainability reporting, GRI-aligned disclosures, and engagement with initiatives such as the International Council on Mining and Metals provides above-average disclosure quality compared to most corridor operators. This disclosure enables more detailed independent assessment than is possible for less transparent companies. Our analysis leverages Barrick's disclosure to produce deeper operational assessments while noting where disclosure gaps limit independent verification.

ESG Profile

Barrick Gold's corridor presence through Lumwana copper and Kibali gold operations spans two corridor countries with distinct ESG profiles. The company's global ESG framework, shaped by its position as one of the world's largest gold producers, provides governance structures and reporting standards that generally exceed corridor averages. However, global frameworks do not automatically translate into local performance.

The Lumwana Super Pit expansion represents one of the most significant mine development decisions affecting the Zambian corridor zone. The expansion will extend the mine's life by decades and dramatically increase copper production, but it requires massive earthmoving, water management, and community engagement at a scale that tests the company's ESG commitment. Environmental impact assessment for the expansion must address cumulative impacts on a landscape already affected by decades of mining activity.

Kibali, operated as a joint venture with AngloGold Ashanti in northeastern DRC, faces ESG challenges distinct from the copper corridor. The mine's remote location, proximity to conflict-affected areas, and gold's association with artisanal mining and armed group financing create security and human rights dimensions that require specialised monitoring. Our assessment of Barrick's corridor ESG performance differentiates between its Zambian and DRC operations to reflect these distinct contexts.

Community and Environmental Record

Community relations at Lumwana reflect Zambia's relatively stronger governance framework for mining-community engagement. The mine's community development programmes, local employment practices, and environmental management benefit from Zambian regulatory oversight that, while imperfect, provides more systematic accountability than DRC equivalents. Our monitoring compares Barrick's Zambian performance against both regulatory requirements and international best practice, identifying where the company meets minimum standards versus where it demonstrates leadership.

Water management is the critical environmental issue at Lumwana. The mine's water consumption, discharge quality, and impact on downstream water availability for communities and agriculture require ongoing monitoring. The Super Pit expansion will increase water demand significantly. Our environmental monitoring at Lumwana focuses on water-related indicators as the most material environmental dimension for both the mine's operations and surrounding communities' livelihoods.

Corridor Contribution Assessment

Our independent assessment evaluates this company's net contribution to corridor development outcomes. Positive contributions include employment creation, local procurement spending, tax and royalty payments, infrastructure investment, technology transfer, and community development programmes. Negative contributions include environmental degradation, community displacement, labour rights concerns, revenue leakage through transfer pricing or other mechanisms, and governance failures that undermine institutional development.

The balance between positive and negative contributions determines our overall assessment of this company's corridor role. Companies that generate significant economic activity while maintaining strong environmental and social standards receive positive assessments. Companies whose negative impacts outweigh their economic contributions receive adverse assessments. Our assessment methodology is transparent, consistent, and applied equally across all corridor actors regardless of size, nationality, or commercial relationship with our organisation. Independence is non-negotiable; our credibility depends on willingness to document inconvenient truths about any corridor stakeholder.

Our corridor intelligence team conducts ongoing assessment of this company's operational footprint, tracking quarterly performance indicators across environmental compliance, community engagement effectiveness, workforce development, and governance transparency. Assessment data feeds directly into our published ESG Scorecards and informs rating decisions. Companies demonstrating sustained improvement receive recognition in our intelligence products, creating reputational incentives that complement regulatory requirements and market pressures for responsible corridor participation.

Supply chain traceability for minerals processed, traded, or transported by this company is monitored through our integrated intelligence framework. We track mineral flows from mine sites through processing, trading, and export, documenting compliance with applicable due diligence requirements including EU CSDDD, OECD Guidance, and sector-specific standards. Our source evidence archive preserves supply chain documentation with immutable timestamps, creating an accountability infrastructure that supports both company compliance efforts and independent verification by stakeholders.

Key Personnel

Senior leadership and key decision-makers at this organisation are tracked through our actor profiles database. Our monitoring assesses the relationship between leadership decisions and corridor community outcomes, documenting public commitments, strategic actions, and accountability for stated objectives. Personnel changes affecting corridor operations are reported in our weekly intelligence briefs.