Security System Planning

Barrick Goldstrike Mines, Inc., Elko, NV

Barrick Gold Corporation operates Goldstrike Mine, the largest gold mine in North America, which produces more than two million ounces of gold annually. Barrick recognized the need for security system improvements to help protect high-value assets at this property and turned to Timberline Engineering for security consulting. Timberline recommended a preliminary design phase to outline security system objectives and to develop plans for security system improvements.
Timberline recommended a systems approach to physical protection design beginning by determining the system objectives. This phase included the following:

  • Threat assessment
  • Target identification
  • Protection strategy definition
  • Facility characterization

The outcome of the threat assessment was a profile of the threats to be considered in design of the security system. The target identification phase included reviewing site plans with Barrick Security professionals and taking a driving and walking tour of the targets selected. A process of expert elicitation was used to ensure no other targets of interest to Barrick have been left out.

Physical protection system design is highly dependent on the protection strategy employed. A physical protection system designed to identify hostile activities and record information for future use is very different than one designed to deny armed intruders access to a target. Protection strategy definition consisted of reviewing Barrick’s desired protection strategy within the context of each target identified to ensure all variations are understood.

Facility characterization consisted of reviewing site plans, facility drawings, and other documentation as well as performing site walkdowns. The goal of facility characterization was to understand the physical protection requirements
for the facility as well as to gain appreciation for the operational and safety constraints that must be considered. This step identified existing paths of ingress and egress, and provided recommendations for maintenance of some and closure of others.

These four steps, threat assessment, target identification, protection strategy definition, and facility characterization resulted in a coherent approach to security system upgrades to meet Barrick’s requirements in light of their unique
requirements and constraints.Security system design involves understanding and documenting the vulnerabilities to a facility and the extent to which the security system is designed to protect those vulnerabilities. Naturally, many of the conversations and much of the project documentation that results from that work contains sensitive information that should not be for public dissemination. Timberline assisted Barrick in development of a procedure for marking, storing, and transmitting sensitive information to lessen the possibility of unintended public distribution.

Contact: Richard “Bo” Bovee, Security Manager
Barrick Goldstrike Mines, Inc / Elko, NV.
(702) 778-8139

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