# Barrick Gold > Barrick Gold's material transition starts with the mine site, where water, land, energy, reagents, tailings and closure are inseparable. Its 2025 reporting says the company exceeded an 80% water-recycling and reuse target, while its operating model uses site-level water plans and risk registers. The next useful unit is one mine and one material or water stream with a clear operating boundary. - Industry: Metals & Mining - Collection: Active - Materials: Copper, Steel, Water - Processes: Recycling, Mechanical processing - Evidence through: 2026-09-18 - Canonical URL: https://www.materialtransition.com/library/barrick-gold ## Material inputs to resolve Gold and copper mining with site-specific water, tailings, biodiversity and closure obligations Barrick's 2025 Sustainability Report describes water stewardship, biodiversity management, climate resilience and site-level environmental planning. Barrick reports an overall water recycling and reuse rate of 81% in 2025, above its 80% annual target, and says each mine has a site-specific water management plan with water risks included in operational risk registers. Public reporting does not establish one mine-level material ledger connecting ore, reagents, water, tailings, recovery and closure outcome. **81%** 2025 overall water recycling and reuse rate **80%** Annual water recycling and reuse target exceeded **17 countries** Barrick operations and projects across five continents **Site-specific** Water management plans and operational risk registers - Ore, water, energy, explosives, cyanide, grinding media, fuel, steel and maintenance materials - Mine geology, processing plant, tailings storage, transport and closure planning - Recovered metals, tailings, waste rock, process water and site rehabilitation inputs ### Outputs and residuals to resolve - Gold, copper and mineral concentrates for downstream refining - Tailings, waste rock, process water, reagents and closure materials - Mine-level material balance, water quality and closure outcome remain open **First decision:** Choose one Barrick mine and one stream, such as process water, reagents, tailings or steel. Map input, recovery, risk control, destination and closure implication. ## Water signal Barrick reports an 81% overall water recycling and reuse rate in 2025, above its 80% target. #### Governance signal Barrick says each mine has a site-specific water management plan and operational risk register. #### Material system Mining operations connect ore, reagents, energy, water, tailings and closure in one physical system. #### Evidence boundary Group metrics do not establish one mine-level mass balance, water-quality result or closure pathway. ### Decision boundary The public record supports one bounded next move: Choose one Barrick mine and one stream, such as process water, reagents, tailings or steel. Map input, recovery, risk control, destination and closure implication. It does not establish a buyer, commercial approval or supply agreement. ## Material flow map | Material or stream | Qualification gate | Process or destination | Evidence still needed | |-|-|-|-| | Process water | Source, quality, reuse, discharge and watershed risk | Mine and processing plant loop | Volume, chemistry, reuse and discharge boundary | | Ore and reagents | Grade, recovery, reagent use and hazardous-material controls | Crushing, grinding and recovery | Input, yield, residuals and product allocation | | Tailings and waste rock | Stability, chemistry, containment and closure use | Tailings storage or rehabilitation | Volume, risk, route and closure evidence | This is a public screening map. It separates company-disclosed flows from open qualification work. It does not convert a destination into a buyer or an announced ambition into operating capacity. ## Three defensible entry lanes #### Make water performance site-specific The group number is a signal. The operating decision lives at a mine, a watershed and a process. **Next evidence:** Select mine, watershed, process, baseline, reuse project and result. #### Connect recovery yield to material demand More metal per tonne of ore changes the water, energy and tailings picture only when the boundary is explicit. **Next evidence:** Join ore, recovery, reagents, energy, water, concentrate and residuals. #### Design closure into today's material choices Closure is not a final chapter. It changes what materials, routes and controls make sense now. **Next evidence:** Select mine, material, tailings or waste stream, closure use and verification. ## Evidence register - **2025 Sustainability Report release** Barrick Mining Corporation, official report announcement https://www.barrick.com/English/news/news-details/2026/2025-sustainability-report/default.aspx [1] - **Environment** Barrick Mining Corporation, official environment hub https://www.barrick.com/English/sustainability/environment/default.aspx [2] - **Sustainability Report 2025** Barrick Mining Corporation, official report PDF https://s25.q4cdn.com/322814910/files/doc\_downloads/sustainability/Barrick\_Sustainability\_Report\_2025.pdf [3] Source hierarchy: filings and company disclosures first. The brief states what those sources support and leaves the unresolved plant, grade, permit, buyer and mass-balance questions explicit. ## Material Transition editorial interpretation The next useful working session starts with: Choose one Barrick mine and one stream, such as process water, reagents, tailings or steel. Map input, recovery, risk control, destination and closure implication. ## Sources - [1] 2025 Sustainability Report release - https://www.barrick.com/English/news/news-details/2026/2025-sustainability-report/default.aspx - [2] Environment - https://www.barrick.com/English/sustainability/environment/default.aspx - [3] Sustainability Report 2025 - https://s25.q4cdn.com/322814910/files/doc_downloads/sustainability/Barrick_Sustainability_Report_2025.pdf From the Material Transition company brief library: https://www.materialtransition.com/library/barrick-gold