Goldcorp

Goldcorp Inc.

Type	Public
Traded as	TSX: G NYSE: GG S&P/TSX 60 component
Industry	Gold Mining
Founded	1994 (1994)
Headquarters	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Key people	David Garofalo, President & CEO, Ian Telfer, Chairman of the Board and Director
Products	Gold
Revenue	$4,375.00 million (2015)[1]
Operating income	$-4,863.00 million (2015)[1]
Net income	$-4,158.00 million (2015)[1]
Total assets	$21.43 billion (2015)[2]
Number of employees	15,800 (2015)[3]
Website	www.goldcorp.com

Goldcorp is a gold producer headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The company employs about 15,800 people worldwide,^[4] engaged in gold mining and related activities including exploration, extraction, processing and reclamation. Goldcorp’s operating assets include four mines in Canada, two mines in Mexico, and four in Central and South America. As of the third quarter of 2014, Goldcorp was the world's fourth-largest producer of gold.^[5]

In June 2016, Goldcorp was named one of Corporate Knights magazine's Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada.^[6] In the same year, the company was also ranked among Canada's Top 100 Employers. Goldcorp has repeatedly been accused of harming the environment, livestock, and public health in multiple studies by advocacy groups and activists, contaminating areas with toxic heavy metals by its mining activities. These allegations have been refuted by the company and none of these allegations have been proved in a court of law.^[7] The company's track record around transparency, policies and practices has improved^[8] since a damning 2010 study accused the company of human rights violations.

Operations

Operations Map

Goldcorp’s operating assets include four mines in Canada, two mines in Mexico, and four in Central and South America. Goldcorp also has a number of projects including the Cochenour and Borden projects in Canada, and NuevaUnión (formerly known as Project Corridor - 50% interest) in Chile.

Legend

1. Red Lake mine (Canada)
2. Porcupine mine (Canada)
3. Musselwhite mine (Canada)
4. Cochenour project (Canada)
5. Borden project (Canada)
6. El Sauzal mine (Mexico)
7. Los Filos mine (Mexico)
8. Peñasquito mine (Mexico)
9. Marlin mine (Guatemala)
10. Alumbrera mine (Argentina - 37.5% ownership)
11. Éléonore mine (Canada)
12. Pueblo Viejo mine (Dominican Republic - 40% ownership)
13. Cerro Negro mine (Argentina)
14. NuevaUnión project (Chile - 50% ownership)

Financial

2015

2015 production totaled 909,400 ounces for the fourth quarter and 3,464,400 ounces for the full year 2015, compared to 890,900 ounces and 2,871,299 ounces, respectively, in 2014.

History

Goldcorp was officially incorporated in 1994. Following a period of M&A activity, the company quickly grew to become a leading gold producer. The company is focused on responsible mining practices with safe, low-cost production in areas of low political risk. Through the consistent application of its business strategy, Goldcorp has achieved significant growth, industry recognition, and numerous awards.

In 2000, Goldcorp founder Rob McEwen launched the Goldcorp Challenge, sharing with the public the company’s geological data with the offer of $575,000 in prizes to those who could help locate Red Lake mine’s next six million ounces of gold. The challenge was successful, with more than 110 sites identified and more than 80 per cent of sites yielding significant gold reserves. The challenge helped turn the company from a struggling enterprise into one of the most profitable in the industry.

Environmental impact

Goldcorp has been working to improve its approach to environmental stewardship. The company publicly reports on its environmental performance on an annual basis and has been a member of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) since 2009. The company’s El Sauzal mine in Mexico was also the first mine in the world to be successfully decommissioned in accordance with the International Cyanide Management Code (“ICMC”).

Despite this, the environmental, economic and human impact of the company’s Latin American mines has been a controversial topic for a number of years.

San Martin Mine, Honduras

A study by Italian activist Flaviano Bianchini in 2006 found dangerous levels of arsenic and lead in the blood of Hondurans living downstream from Goldcorp's San Martin mine, located in the Siria Valley.^[9] While people living in the valley had equated their health problems with the mine's operations since it opened in 1999, both the company and the Honduran government disputed the study's findings. Honduran authorities, the company said, took water samples during three visits in 2008 and all pH measurements were normal. They also reviewed and approved the mine's closure plan.

In 2009, two studies commissioned by the UK-based advocacy group CAFOD have found the company's methods to extract gold from low-grade deposits also releases other toxic heavy metals such as arsenic, mercury and lead, contaminating streams and groundwater. The first study from Newcastle University detected acidic mine drainage, whereby sulphides in the rock are exposed to oxygen and water and produce sulphuric acid, which can have devastating effects on animals and plants. A follow-up study by the same university found evidence of "severe" contamination in the form of highly acidic and metal-rich water from the mine site flowing into a stream used by villagers for agriculture and domestic purposes.^[10]

Since the closure of San Martin mine in 2008, the 1,500 hectare former mine site has been reclaimed into agricultural farmland and the former camp facilities remodeled into an ecotourism hotel. These developments have since provided employment, skills training and new investment to the area.

Marlin Mine, Guatemala

An investigative report by the CTV Television Network's W5, published on their website on April 17, 2010, reported criticism by human rights workers about the damage they believe mining companies were doing to the people, the land, and the culture of Guatemala.^[11] The same news program ran a four-part documentary entitled "Paradise Lost" which explored some of the controversy surrounding Goldcorp's Marlin mine operation, and investigated the economic, environmental, and social costs and benefits of Canadian mining operations in Central America.^[12]

At the request of Goldcorp shareholders, an independent human rights impact assessment (HRIA) was conducted by external auditors in 2010.^[13] Goldcorp has since implemented all recommendations from the HIRA, including the publishing of an official Human Rights Policy in 2010.

On July 14–15, 2012 the self-organized International Peoples’ Health Tribunal, a panel of twelve "judges" with backgrounds in science, health, ecology, and human rights met in Guatemala to hear testimony relating to the effects of Goldcorp's South American mines. After the two-day tribunal, the panel found Goldcorp financially liable for health and ecological damages to the communities near its mines in Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico.^[14] As a "self organized" tribunal, the panel findings carry no legal bearing, however, the company did voluntarily secure financial bonds to ensure responsible closure.

The Marlin mine has since been lauded as a model of responsible mine closure and was named one of the 21 Most Socially Responsible Companies in Central America by El Economista (The Economist) Magazine.

Pueblo Viejo mining project, Dominican Republic

Pueblo Viejo mining project takes place in the Dominican Republic and is operated by Barrick Pueblo Viejo, a firm owned by Barrick Gold and Goldcorp.^[15] 25 years of operation are scheduled for this project, which is likely to raise the exports of the Dominican Republic clearly.^[15] The project is accused of having caused contamination and illegal logging.^[16] The illegal logging has since been attributed to local village people. In 2012, Barrick Gold opened a water treatment plant that has since successfully rehabilitated the contaminated area.^[17]

See also

• Gold as an investment
• Gold mining

References

Major mining companies
Methodology: FY2010/11 revenues of over US$5 billion
Aluminum Corporation of China Anglo American Anglo American Platinum AngloGold Ashanti Antofagasta Barrick Gold BHP Billiton Codelco Freeport-McMoRan Glencore Xstrata Goldcorp Hindalco Industries Impala Platinum The Mosaic Company Newcrest Mining Newmont Mining Norilsk Nickel Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Rio Tinto Shenhua Southern Copper Vale
Mining companies