Shareholders ask for Expert Panel on Barrick Gold's
Pascua-Lama Project

MONTREAL, QC//May 1, 2008/// Shareholders who are members of Regroupement pour la responsabilité sociale et l’équité (RRSE) and Bâtirente are proposing that Barrick Gold provides a panel of independent experts to insure that the Pascua-Lama mining project complies in every respect with industry best practices and in order to protect the Right to Water of local communities.  
 
Montréal, May 1st 2008 – After three years of dialogue with Barrick Gold on the Pascua-Lama open pit mining project in the Andean mountains of Chile and Argentina, a region of high seismic activity and upstream of agricultural valleys, the Sisters of St. Anne of Québec, a member of RRSE, have filed a shareholder proposal for the annual meeting of the Company. 
 
This proposal aims to reassure the company and its shareholders that the Pascua-Lama project will be conducted using industry best practices at all times and in every respect.  The panel, made up of independent experts of international reputation, would make sure that the impacts of the project will not negatively affect the quantity and quality of water in the region.  Among other things, it would also verify that the impacts of climate change on glaciers will not be worsened by the mining project.
 
"Our members are convinced that a special governance mechanism is needed for this unusual project because the Right to Water for local populations is at stake in an area already lacking water. Right to Water is essential to the realization of all human rights," stated Pierre Viau, RRSE's director. According to François Meloche, extra-financial risks manager for Bâtirente, "many of the citizens who depend on this water for agriculture are rightly worried of the project's environmental impacts. Considering the nature of this project, a panel of expert would insure shareholders that Barrick Gold has done everything in its power to reduce risks to water."
 
This proposal of the Sisters of St. Anne of Québec is supported by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, also members of RRSE and Bâtirente, a pension fund.
 
Recently, scientists meeting in Vienna voiced concerns on the impact of climate change on glaciers and on the lack of understanding of the hydrology and glaciology in high mountains. What is clear is that the controversy around the impact on water of the Pascua-Lama project will remain in the near future and may increase if the actual impacts exceed Barrick's optimistic expectations and financial guaranties. Barrick Gold and shareholders should explore original and transparent governance solutions for the project given that it represents an important asset for the company and considering the risks associated with it. 
 
Similar governance mechanisms have been implemented by corporations such as Xstrata, BP and Hydro-Quebec and are mandatory for certain projects receiving funding by the World Bank.
 
The proposal filed by members of the RRSE and Bâtirente will be debated and submitted to a vote at Barrick Gold's next annual general meeting on May 6 in Toronto.
 
Regroupement pour la responsabilité sociale et l’équité (RRSE) is an association of over 35 religious communities, of faith-based organizations and of individuals who aim to promote corporate social responsibility issues (human rights, environment, good governance and equity). 
 
Bâtirente is a pension fund created in 1987 by the Quebec union CSN to allow workers to benefit from pension funds adapted to their needs. With assets of over 700 millions $, Bâtirente aims to improve and protect the long-term interest of members by incorporating environment, social and governance risks into its investments. 
 
CONTACT:
 
RRSE
Lise Parent
Analyst-advisor
(514) 725-1536
parcohen@sympatico.ca
 
Pierre Viau 
Director 
(514) 722-1414
viapr@sympatico.ca
   
Comité syndical national de retraite Bâtirente inc.
François Meloche
Manager extrafinancial risks 
(514) 525 5740 poste 2324
francois.meloche@batirente.qc.ca