Modern Mining July 2021

MINING News

Exploration successes point to longer life for Tongon

Significant exploration successes could extend the Tongon gold mine’s life, Barrick president and chief executive Mark Bristow has said. Speaking at a local media briefing on July 10, Bristow said 10 years after it went into production Tongon could get a new lease on life thanks to promising results from near-mine exploration campaigns designed to replace the mine’s depleted reserves. In addition to work on the promis‑

ing Seydou North and Tongon West targets, Tongon has filed the documentation for the extension of its Nielle mining licence by a further 10 years, to support the drive to add to its life-of-mine. Bristow said Barrick, through its pre‑ decessor Randgold Resources, had been investing in and partnering with Côte d’Ivoire through the country’s many chal‑ lenges and development stages. “The successful commissioning of

compliant enterprises. “This hinders their ability to adopt best practice, manage risk, and ultimately become more competitive,” says Lalla. These businesses should prioritise their ESG performance by acquiring the services of legal professionals with comprehen‑ sive experience in this area. “This will give them access to expert advice on ESG risks and compliance measures, helping them manage their risks more effectively while allowing them to become more competi‑ tive,” says Lalla. LNP Attorneys can assist in guiding businesses on their obligations around disclosure and adoption of best practices, and will ensure they meet the expectations and requirements of regula‑ tors, governments, and investors. “We have a multidisciplinary team which is ready to help companies fulfil their ESG commitments. Companies across all sec‑ tors need to consider how they meet the expectations of today’s investors, or they risk falling behind their competitors,” con‑ cludes Lalla.  Tongon in the midst of a civil war was a landmark achievement in the development of a gold mining industry in the highly pro‑ spective but underexplored Côte d’Ivoire. Since then, the mine has been consis‑ tently profitable – it has just declared a US$150-million dividend for the year – and boasts one of the best safety records in the Barrick group. Over time it has invested US$1,77-billion in the Ivorian economy in the form of taxes, salaries, payments to local suppliers and infrastructure develop‑ ments,” Bristow said. In Barrick’s spirit of partnership with its host communities, Tongon has provided the local villages, located in one of the poorest parts of the country, with access to electric‑ ity and new markets through a network of power lines, roads and bridges, built new primary schools and clinics, boosted the development of a regional economy by employing local contractors and suppliers, and prefinanced a number of income-gener‑ ating projects. Most recently it has provided a surgical unit for the Mbengue clinic. “A longer life for Tongon means that it will be able to continue creating benefits to share with our Ivorian stakeholders for years to come,” Bristow said. 

Barrick Gold’s Tongon gold mine.

Your company’s ESG performance matters more than you think

use, deforestation, financial climate risk and the just energy transition when choosing where to put their money. “ESG considerations are becoming a focal point for regulators, governments, investors, and other key stakeholders. In South Africa specifically, a company’s approach to climate change, ethical busi‑ ness relationships and social outreach are becoming increasingly important. However, many organisations are struggling to keep up with ESG requirements,” explains Nikita Lalla, chief executive of LNP Attorneys. “The focus on ESG performance has grown recently. While it used to be just ‘responsible investors’ who showed an interest in ESG performance, it is now a focus of every investor since ESG perfor‑ mance has shown to positively impact the longer-term sustainability of a company,” comments Lalla. However, she advises that many organisations do yet not pos‑ sess the appropriate level of understanding and skills which are needed to ensure they transform efficiently into sustainable, ESG-

Nikita Lalla, chief executive of LNP Attorneys.

Investors today are increasingly obliged to review the performance of the companies they invest in – not just in terms of finan‑ cial and market performance but in terms of environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance. These “intangible ele‑ ments” have proven to impact long term shareholder value, meaning that it isn’t just the socially conscious who are now worried about issues such as modern slavery, water

4  MODERN MINING  July 2021