According to Mining News Pro - Earlier in March, the world’s second-largest gold miner said it was increasing its inventory of “key commodities” to above normal levels in response to the global spread of covid-19.

President and chief executive Mark Bristow said the company was closely monitoring the situation, constantly updating scenarios, reviewing the latest guidance from the international medical community, and engaging with its host governments and states.

All non-essential business travel has been suspended and non-essential projects have been curtailed. In line with directives from host governments and the international health authorities, Barrick has put measures in place to mitigate the risk of infection while ensuring a safe environment for operations to continue as usual.

The company has extended its 24-hour call service to communities and the families around operations in Argentina and has implemented similar response services across the group’s operations.

“Barrick has well-established prevention practices and procedures, and the experience we gained from dealing with two Ebola pandemics around our African operations will stand us in good stead as we face this new and unprecedented challenge,” Bristow said.

“We have increased stock levels for key supplies and equipment to a minimum of three months, identified alternative suppliers and shipping routes, and put in place contingency plans for clearing and offloading. To date, placed and forecast orders are still intact and there have been no hold-ups in our supply chain,” Bristow added.