Building a culture focused on safety

At Kazakhmys, improving our health and safety performance is a priority. As a major international group, our employees, investors and communities expect us to deliver safe working environments for everyone. A well-managed operation is a safe operation.

Reducing fatalities and injuries

Every injury and fatality is unacceptable and avoidable. The main causes were rock falls, explosives handling, working at height and contact with machine parts or mobile equipment.

We investigate every fatal accident and serious incident, reporting them to our Group Health, Safety and Environment Committee, and Fatal Accident and Serious Incident Review Panel. We also support the victims' families financially.

We are implementing many measures that aim to enhance safety across our business. These are some of the measures:

Group Health, Safety and Environment Committee

The committee is responsible for continually reviewing the development and maintenance of our health, safety and environmental policies and standards. Read more

Major new appointments

We recently appointed a Group Chief Operating Officer and Human Resources Director. Both ensure senior management focus on safety and that we commit adequate resources throughout the company.

Simplifying our safety rules

In 2011 we reduced our safety rules from sixteen to ten, making them easier to understand and follow. These rules are divided into 'Red Zone' rules, which when broken, result in instant dismissal, and 'Yellow Zone' rules, which lead to disciplinary proceedings. We have a policy of zero tolerance on breaking safety rules.

Inspections and reporting

We perform regular announced and unannounced site safety inspections and stop operations due to finding safety violations. We also operate a 24-hour anonymous phone line for employees to report health and safety concerns.

Investing in improving safety standards

In 2010, 9% of our capital expenditure went towards safety-related matters, including protective equipment, fire protection and ventilation.

Working with contractors

In 2011, we introduced new safety requirements for selecting qualified and experienced contractor companies. Trained site managers are also responsible for managing external workforces. Our zero-tolerance approach applies equally to contractors.

Investing in technology

We plan to install incident management software at our facilities in 2011. The software will record all incidents and corrective actions, and identify trends. We have also introduced new technologies to prevent rock falls and roof collapses: the most common causes of fatalities in our operations. Read more

Safety training

In 2010, 19,442 employees from our Copper Division and Ekibastuz power plant received formal safety training. Each received an average of 38.5 hours of health and safety training. We have established two dedicated training colleges, which provide operational and safety training. We have also begun implementing a new internal safety training and qualification programme across the organisation. Read more

Managing occupational health

We aim to improve the health of employees, contractors, their families and communities. We operate 56 medical facilities, including a medical centre at Zhezkazgan. Every employee receives medical examinations when hired, then annual checkups and regular monitoring to prevent, detect and treat occupational diseases. Our Copper Division is undertaking a three-year health protection programme that aims to improve monitoring and treatment.