Our People
At both Sasa and Kounrad, we are aware of the importance of our operations on people’s lives in the surrounding areas and we are committed to making a positive impact on these individuals.
Sasa
At Sasa, we employ 684 people, which represents almost 0.1% of the North Macedonian workforce. Of the total number of employees, only seven are expatriates and 93% are from the local municipality of Makedonska Kamenica, which has around 5,000 residents. Sasa is the biggest employer in the East Region of North Macedonia and employs 51 women.
During 2018, the following training was given to Sasa employees
- 100% of our team received external occupational health and safety training
- 11% attended additional training for their specific roles
- 100% of Sasa employees received internal training on environmental protection
- 100% of the Sasa environmental team received external training on environmental protection
- 4% of the employees, constituting the mine rescue team, received training on mine rescue
- 4% of the team attended external seminars, lectures and workshops on relevant topics
- 3% of the team undertook machine handling training
- Two Sasa employees attended the President Ivanov School of Young Leaders
Since acquiring Sasa, we have made some positive changes to improve working conditions at the mine. We invested in three new buses which transport mine workers to and from their homes and we have made some improvements to the canteen.
We have initiated a process of writing internal newsletters which will result in a better information flow and hopefully encourage more two-way communication. A new Sasa safety award was instigated, with 10 employees receiving this for their hard work throughout the year.
Kounrad
At Kounrad, we have a team of 340, with 100% of the employees being from the local village of Kounrad or local town of Balkhash. We have only one expatriate – our sustainability Director, Nick Shirley, who also now spends much of his time in North Macedonia. 67 of our employees are female, equating to 20% of the team.
During 2018, Kounrad employees attended 16 different training courses.
- 100% of our production team received industrial safety training
- 18% attended seminars on topics such as ecology, subsoil use, accounting and legislation
- 7% of our team attended English courses
- 10 members of our team are in higher education, ranging from metallurgy to logistics
We believe that, as a business, we have provided real development opportunities for our team. Raulan Kozgambayev joined us in 2013 as Kounrad’s lead economist and has progressed significantly since, having been in 2018 appointed Deputy General Director of the site.
Former Kounrad General Director, Oleg Telnoi, and former Kounrad Engineer, Maxim Salamatov, have both transferred to the Sasa mine, where they can broaden their experiences and skills.
London
Our London office comprises three Directors, plus an additional 12 employees forming the Group senior management team that includes lawyers, accountants and mining industry professionals. 50% of the head office team is female.