Sasa mine continues its tradition of supporting the local community and its employees during these holidays
In addition to its year-round support Sasa mine has undertaken several activities ahead of the New Year and Christmas holidays to reward its employees and contribute to spread holiday cheer throughout the local community. This year, all Sasa employees received a New Year bonus and appropriate gifts as a token of gratitude for their dedicated work throughout the year and their contribution to the company’s success. More than 600 New Year gift packages were distributed to children from the local kindergarten and the “Cyril and Methodius” primary school in Makedonska Kamenica. Additionally, donations of food packages and other essential items were provided to 227 socially vulnerable families in the local community, as well as support for the users of the Day Center for persons with disabilities in Makedonska Kamenica. Continuing a valued tradition, representatives from Sasa’s management team will visit the on-duty teams in local emergency medical service, the fire brigade, the police, and Sasa employees working on New Year’s Eve. During these visits, they will extend holiday greetings and deliver appropriate gifts in appreciation of their service. “These activities reflect our on-going commitment to the well-being of the community and our employees. We aim to share the joy of the holiday season with everyone, as we believe in the importance of support and solidarity,” said representatives from Sasa mine. Earlier this year, the mine donated a modern LED lighting system to the sports hall of the primary school in Makedonska Kamenica, which is also used by several local sports clubs. This donation is part of Sasa’s continued efforts to enhance local sports infrastructure and support the development of young athletic talent in the local community. Makedonska Kamenica, December 30, 2024
Sasa Mine Announces the Selection of the Best Drawings from This Year’s Children’s Art Competition
We are delighted to announce that this year’s children’s art drawing competition, organized by Sasa Mine received an impressive 129 drawings from 121 talented children from the Municipality of Makedonska Kamenica, as well as children of Sasa employees. The competition was open to all children aged 5 to 15, inviting them to creatively depict Sasa Mine and its significance to people, families and the local community. A panel of external experts, independent from Sasa Mine, carefully selected the 24 best drawings. These artworks will feature in the official Sasa Mine 2025 calendar and be showcased at other appropriate events. All participants will receive a certificate of appreciation and a drawing set, while the creators of the top drawings will also receive monetary prizes. Now in its third consecutive year, this initiative aims to encourage and support creativity and talent among young people while strengthening the bond between Sasa Mine and the local community. We are incredibly proud of all the participants and deeply grateful for their effort and enthusiasm. Sasa Mine remains committed to continue to organize similar activities in the future as part of our commitment to supporting young generations and contributing to the development of our community.
The Sasa mine will work with the competent institutions to demonstrate that is not responsible for the death of fish in the Kalimanci lake
Following published information in the public related to the occurrence of dead fish in Lake Kalimantci on August 6 this year, the Sasa mine is prepared to submit all facts and data to the competent institutions throughout possible further procedure to determine the true cause of previous mentioned phenomenon. We emphasize that the occurrence of dead fish in Lake Kalimanci could result from various potential causes unrelated to the current operations of the Sasa mine. In Sasa mine, both regular and extraordinary inspections are carried out by competent state institutions. During these inspections, it has been confirmed that the Sasa mine operates in accordance with its A integrated environmental permit.
Open call for participation to children art competition 2024
For the third consecutive year, the SASA Mine announces a public call for participation in a children’s art drawing competition. The theme for drawings this year is the operation of the mine and its significance for people, families and the local community. All children aged between 5 and 15, who live in the municipality of Makedonska Kamenica, or with parents employed at Sasa, are eligible for the competition. Artworks should be submitted no later than November 22, 2024 to the Office for Communication with the Community of SASA Mine (28 “Rudarska” Street, Makedonska Kamenica). SASA employees may submit their children’s work to the Personnel Office. The following information should be written on the back of the drawing: name and surname of the child; name and surname of the parent/guardian; date of birth of the child; residential address and contact telephone number. By submitting their drawing, the child and their parent/guardian automatically give permission for it to be used by SASA. No later than mid-December, a special external committee, made up of independent, non-SASA staff members, will select the best drawings that committee members believe best represent the SASA mine and its contribution to people and the community. Each winner will be awarded with 3,000 denars. The winning artwork will feature in the 2025 SASA calendar and in other communications.
Eco-campaign “Recycle and Win” at SASA Mine
More than 16,000 plastic bottles and cans were collected during the “Recycle and Win” eco-campaign organised by the Environmental Department at SASA Mine ahead of Miners’ Day. The funds raised from recycling the plastic bottles and cans collected by the local community, supplemented by contributions from SASA Mine and its employees, were donated to the Special Needs Daycare in Makedonska Kamenica, adding a charitable aspect to the campaign. The local population, especially the youngest members of the community, participated enthusiastically in the “Recycle and Win” campaign. On the day of the event, they brought a large number of plastic bottles and cans and received appropriate gifts in return. The collected materials were recycled through SASA Mine’s vending machines, and the funds generated from the recycling process, which were doubled by a donation from SASA Mine’s management, were used to purchase supplies for the Special Needs Daycare in Makedonska Kamenica. Additionally, a number of SASA Mine employees supported the eco-campaign with voluntary individual donations. These contributions helped purchase new armchairs, tables and shelves for the Special Needs Daycare in Makedonska Kamenica, further improving the conditions for those who live there and require care. “We are extremely pleased with the success of this eco-action campaign. Its implementation allowed us to achieve several goals that SASA Mine and its employees are committed to, including raising environmental awareness and providing support for people in the community, especially those most in need. I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who participated and supported the eco-campaign, demonstrating both high environmental awareness and, care for the members of our community who rely on the services of the Special Needs Daycare in Makedonska Kamenica,” said Marija Stojanovska, Head of the Environmental Department at SASA Mine. This eco-campaign, with its humanitarian aspect, is one of many socially responsible activities continuously organised by SASA Mine, contributing to both environmental protection and the prosperity of the local community.
Donations and Employee Awards on Miners’ Day from SASA Mine
On August 28, with a series of activities and donations, SASA Mine celebrates Macedonian Miners’ Day, together with Makedonska Kamenica’s double holiday. Each year, SASA has traditionally awarded all of its 770-plus employees with cash prizes and suitable gifts. Special recognition was given to Aleksandar Stoimirov, named the best miner for 2024 alongside 121 of his colleagues who have made significant contributions to safe and stable production, received additional prizes and acknowledgments. In its ongoing commitment to community well-being, SASA has announced and implemented several donation projects during the celebration. Notable, the mine has advanced the third part of the project aimed at raising public awareness and enhancing traffic safety, which SASA is implementing in partnership with the Municipality of Makedonska Kamenica and the Ministry of Interior. This phase includes the installation of new traffic signs, pedestrian crossing markings, and other technical solutions on several streets in Makedonska Kamenica with the aim of improving safety for all road users. The Municipality developed an appropriate technical plan for the project identifying critical areas for infrastructure improvements. Additionally, as part of the educational messaging of the project, conducted under the motto “Open Your Eyes and Be Smart! You Are Not Alone in Traffic” SASA supported the Local Prevention Department’s distribution of educational brochures to drivers, emphasizing important safety rules and tips for greater safety for all traffic participants. The second donation project supported by SASA during this period is the renovation of the interior of the kindergarten in Makedonska Kamenica. The infant room in the kindergarten has been completely renovated, and new lockers, wardrobes, tables, chairs and other necessary furniture has been purchased, significantly enhancing the environment for the children. In its ongoing efforts to promote environmental sustainability, SASA Mine announced a donation of a vending machine for recycling plastic bottles and cans as part of the celebrations. The vending machine will be donated to the municipal utility company “Kamena Reka,” which will determine its location. After its installation, residents and visitors of Makedonska Kamenica will be able to deposit used plastic bottles and cans, receiving “green points” in return, which can be redeemed for various benefits. Similar machines are already operational at the mine site. As part of the Miners’ Day celebrations, SASA Mine also marked the official commissioning of a new digital radiography machine at the Health Station in Makedonska Kamenica. The donated equipment worth over 80,000 euros, is a state-of-the-art medical device and represents a significant advancement in medical technology, offering precise X-ray imaging and diagnostics to enhance healthcare services for the local community.
Eco-campaign “Recycle and Win” at SASA Mine
On the eve of Miners’ Day, on August 26, 2024 (Monday), starting at 9:00 a.m., an eco-action “Recycle and Get” will be held in the organization of SASA Mine. The event will be held in front of the SASA Mine Office in Makedonska Kamenica (located opposite the “Bambi” Kindergarten), where a stand will be set up where all those interested can bring empty plastic bottles and/or cans and in return receive convenient prizes and that: All the collected empty bottles and cans in this eco-action will be recycled in vending machines, and the points obtained will be donated to the Day Center for people with special needs in Makedonska Kamenica. At the same time, the bottles and cans should not be crushed and the label should not be removed from them, so that they can be recycled in the vending machines. The action will last until the moment when the anticipated prizes, which are in limited quantities, are used up, and the prizes will be distributed according to the principle 1 person = 1 prize. We invite you to massively support the action, keeping in mind its goal and humane character.
Sasa Mine provides significant financial support for sports clubs in Makedonska Kamenica in 2024
As a socially responsible company, Sasa Mine invests in the sustainable development and prosperity of the local community year on year. The improvement of sports is one of the areas that the company focuses on and therefore invests in. In the past two years, the company has invested in the implementation of innovative new mining methods that will ensure the maximum working life of the mine. There is a continuous increase in operational costs that are important for maintaining the safe, productive and environmentally responsible operation at Sasa, as well as the increased investments in maintaining the high degree of social security and well-being of the employees. Despite that, Sasa Mine decided to allocate significant funds as direct financial support for the functioning and development of local sports clubs in Makedonska Kamenica again this year. In accordance with the adopted financial plans of Sasa and CAML Group for 2024, the men’s and women’s football and basketball clubs in Makedonska Kamenica have been approved and will be awarded similar support as was given in 2023, which was a record year of support from Sasa since it reopened in 2006. Beside in sports, the Sasa Foundation invests every year as support for the local community in areas such as: education, science, environmental protection, health care and vulnerable social groups. Approximately half of the mentioned financial support for the men’s and women’s football and basketball local sports clubs is intended for the development of the youth categories, as the Sasa Mine would like to encourage as many children and young people as possible in the local community to get involved in sports activities and to recognise and develop their talent. Data shows that, since Sasa joined the CAML Group in November 2017, investments in the development of local sports clubs have increased many times compared to that prior to 2017. In order to guarantee the transparency of this process, over the past two days, representatives of the Sasa management team have held a joint meeting with the representatives of the local sports clubs mentioned previously, at which they presented all the relevant data and the way in which this year’s financial support for each of the clubs was allocated. An additional meeting was also held with the mayor of the municipality of Makedonska Kamenica, to acknowledge the fact that the municipality also allocates funds in the local budget for the development of sports and supports the clubs. „On this occasion too, we once again confirmed our determination to continue the support for the development of local sports and young talents in the future, but at the same time we asked the management teams of the clubs, who manage them independently, to properly and above all responsibly manage the allocated funds, so that they are used to achieve the real goals for which they are intended. The focus of support from Sasa Mine is the youth categories and greater representation of players from the local community in the senior teams of the clubs,” stated the Sasa general Manager, Chris Colbourne.
New salaries increase in Sasa Mine – fourth in the past two years
The management team of Sasa Mine has made a decision to increase the salary for all employees, which starts to apply from the January salaries. In the past two years, this is the fourth salary increase in Sasa. With the previous three increases made in 2022 and 2023, salaries at Sasa were increased by more than 25%. With this decision, Sasa managed to overcome the impact of growth of prices and costs of living on the well-being of its employees, which were particularly pronounced during 2022 and the beginning of 2023. The calculations show that since the entry of Central Asia Metals (CAML) in 2017 until today, the salaries in Sasa has increased significantly, with the average salary over 70% higher than the average paid net salary in the country. Before making the final decision for a new salary increase, collaborative meetings were held with officials from your Sasa representative union, where a thorough analysis of all relevant data of the Sasa operations, including data for the growth of prices and costs of living (inflation), was presented and discussed. “Despite the increase in operating costs and the volume of investments, as well as the decline in the prices of lead and zinc in the global markets, as a management team we have made the decision to increase the salaries of all employees again. With this we want to express our appreciation to the employees, for their hard work and dedication in achieving safe and sustainable production, and at the same time we want to further motivate them to continue the good work, to increase efficiency and productivity, to preserve the high level of safety and to successfully complete the implementation of the capital projects that should ensure the maximum working life of Sasa and benefits for all,” Sasa General Director Chris Colbourne said.
The educational part of the Project “OPEN YOUR EYES AND BE CAREFUL! YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN TRAFFIC” has started
A presentation for the students from the primary and secondary school in Makedonska Kamenica, aged 14 to 18, the implementation of the educational component of the local project for raising public awareness and increasing traffic safety has taken place. This is the result of the project run by the SASA Mine, Municipality of Makedonska Kamenica and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The purpose of such educational presentations, which are carried out by employees from the prevention department at SVR-Shtip (Local police department), is to familiarise the young residents of the local community with the traffic rules and regulations, the behaviour and the measures they should take in order to increase their safety and the safety of all traffic participants. Within the framework of this project, educational workshops will also be held for the Sasa employees. All participants in these educational workshops will receive a leaflet containing the basic rules, tips and recommendations for safe behaviour in traffic. This Project is prompted by the increasing number of traffic accidents that occurred in the past few years in which residents of Makedonska Kamenica, were injured or lost their lives. For more than five years, in the municipality of Makedonska Kamenica, there have been almost two traffic accidents per month and one victim per year registered, on average. The implementation of this Project started on 19. November – the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, with an information campaign under the slogan “Open your eyes and be careful! You are not alone in traffic“. United Nations statistics show that road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for children and young people aged 5 to 29 worldwide. Globally, more than 1.35 million people die each year in traffic accidents, and more than half of all traffic deaths are pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.
