New York- and Toronto-listed Barrick Gold has said there are significant near-mine discoveries within trucking distance of its Kibali plant in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that could significantly extend the life of the mine.

Barrick president and CE Mark Bristow said the company was also consolidating new prospective grounds for both gold and copper to expand its footprint in the DRC.

Speaking in Kinshasa, DRC, on October 8, he said the newly defined ARK target, located 4 km from the processing plant, had the potential to deliver, through additional exploration, a high-grade multimillion-ounce orebody.

This, in addition to the KCD deposit’s downdip extensions, supported Kibali’s ability to continue replacing reserves depleted by mining with high-quality ounces going forward. The mine was currently on track to meet its production and cost guidance for the year and remained a cost-efficient producer, Bristow said.
 
He noted that Kibali was a frontier mine which, over 15 years, had catalysed and promoted the growth of a thriving regional economy in the country’s remote Northeast region. This continued to be driven by its multi-stakeholder model of partnering with local businesses and communities, Bristow said, noting that, to date, it had spent $2.87-billion with local contractors and suppliers.
 
He noted that Kibali was currently collaborating with the DRC government on a series of initiatives aimed at further enhancing its local content initiatives in the region which would benefit more than 500 local companies.

In addition, 41 of the 44 projects targeted under Kibali’s community development fund have been completed, while nine of the 14 projects supported by the mine’s Cahier des Charges initiative are nearing completion.
 
The miner is also fine-tuning its plans to add 64 white rhinos to the 16 successfully relocated to Garamba National Park last year.
 
When the new 16 MW solar plant and battery energy storage system was commissioned, which augmented Kibali’s three hydropower stations, the renewable-energy penetration would increase from 79% to 85%. Moreover, for six months of the year, the mine’s energy use would be entirely renewable, Bristow said.