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ISO 45001 Certificate

“Bucim” DOO Radovis has obtained an ISO 45001 Certificate for Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS)

“Bucim” DOO Radovish is among the first companies in the Republic of North Macedonia to have been awarded the international certificate for occupational health and safety management system ISO 45001: 2018.

The ISO 45001 standard is a safety and health management system. The adoption of this standard includes activities to improve safety processes at work, and also increases awareness of risks in the workplace.

Establishing this management system for safety and protection at work will contribute towards:

  • Reducing the risks to all stakeholders of exposure to organizational risks (namely employees);
  • Continuous improvement of safety and protection at work;
  • Introduction of health and safety standards across the entire organization in accordance with ISO 45001;
  • Methodological analysis of products and processes;
  • Measures being defined and observed.

After the certification audit regarding fulfillment of the requirements of the international standard ISO 45001: 2018, “Bucim” DOO Radovish acquired this certificate.

Having a Certificate of Occupational Health and Safety Management System means that all processes and procedures carried out at the mine must comply with the requirements of ISO 45001: 2018. This is yet another confirmation of the successful operation of the Bucim mine.

Bucim press release

Official statement of “Bucim” DOO Radovish

On March 13, 2019 at 13:30, an accident happened in the copper mine “Bucim” DOO Radovish. During the performance of his duties, an employee in charge of changing the alignment from a high voltage line died of an electric shock.

All the services required by law in such a case were called in place. After initial information from the services, the cause of death is an electrocution. A commission is formed to assess the final assessment of the the cause of the accident in accordance with all legal requirements.

“Bucim” DOO Radovish and its mothering company Solway Investment Group express their sincere condolences to the family. In accordance with the laws of the Republic of Macedonia and according to the internal protocols, “Bucim” DOO Radovis will pay all benefits to the family of the deceased.

Bucim press release

Regarding the death of a Bucim DOO Radovish employee, this morning, February 6, 2019

Bucim DOO Radovish would like to clarify the information falsely published by the media on the situation as it relates to the death of an employee of the mine this morning.

An employee of Bucim who performed his duties as a driver died while at work this morning, on February 6, 2019. At the time of his death the deceased was working on the site and fell next to the vehicle he was in charge of. The assigned Buchim medical personnel immediately took all the necessary first aid actions. Further on the patient was handed over to the certified ambulance staff that declared him dead.

All the respected agencies required by law in such an event were called to the site to assess the matter. The medical staff and the police identified the preliminary cause of death as natural. The employee was a regular subject of the routine health assessments required by the laws of Macedonia and passed them successfully. A commission will be formed to perform the final assessment of the cause of death in adherence with all legal requirements. The incident did not affect the current operational processes at the mine.

Bucim DOO Radovish and its mothering company Solway Investment Group express their sincere condolences to the family. Bucim will pay the benefits to the family of the deceased as per the internal protocols and in accordance to the laws of the Republic of Macedonia.

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Preparatory works at the new Borov Dol mine

On December 12, 2018, Buchim DOO, officially launched preparatory works at the new Borov Dol mine. Development of Borov Dol is forecast to extend the life of the Buchim operation to at least 2030.

Solway is planning to invest up to €50 million in preparation of the ore body, construction of a 7 km conveyor belt and other preparatory activities.  Introduction of the new enterprise will serve to prolong operation of the existing Buchim DOO, thereby preserving jobs and contributing to the regional economy, rather than closing the older mine.

“Preparatory works have already begun. There will be many economically beneficial activities, as well as new jobs. We have just signed a contract for construction of the local road. Since many of the construction companies are from the Republic of Macedonia, around 150 new local subcontractors will be engaged during the preparatory period. There is much to come, including financial investments in the construction sector, in particular, and the regional economy more broadly” – commented Nikolajcho Nikolov, Manager of Borov Dol.

According to the plan, mining will begin at Borov Dol around May 2020. The existing mine will cease its operations at the same time. After the transition period is over, most of Buchim’s employees will be transferred to the new facility.

The proposed mining area contains proven and prospective reserves of approximately 40 million tons of ore containing 0.235% copper and 0.2 g/t of gold. The life of the mine may be substantially extended further when new reserves to the north of the ore body are delineated. Borov Dol is the only newly developed ore body in Macedonia to have been developed in the past 40 years.

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International Music Camp for Children and Youth in Salzburg

Talented young students from Radovish will have another chance to represent Macedonia at the International Music Camp for Children and Youth in Salzburg in the summer of 2019.

“Bucim” DOO Radovish, a branch of the Solway Investment Group in Macedonia, opened its annual call for the Solway Music Fellowship Program. An elective part is also organized in cities in Ukraine and Guatemala, where some of the companies in the Solway Group are located.

The children of employees in Bucim, as well as students from artistic groups and educational institutions supported by the company, who have some talent in music, applied arts, ethnic craft, theater, or any other kind of creative performance, have the right to participate in the election part . The age of the participants should be from 14 to 17 years.

The scholarship program of the International Solway Music Fellowship Program, for the candidates of the youth music camp, consists of an elective part in two parts and is awarded by a joint decision of the jury. The jury is represented by the Salzburg Festival, the creative team of the Opera Camps and the Chairman of the Board of the Solway Investment Group. The jury will assess the creativity of the candidates, their artistic, theatrical or music education, as well as the communicative skills, and not the number of diplomas or certificates the candidate has won.

There are a total of 15 vacancies for the district of Radovish in the first part of the electoral program. The application starts on November 20, 2018. The deadline for filing the application is December 20, 2018.

In the first electoral section, the selected 15 candidates will have to attend a 20-week English-language course in order to reach the second part of the elimination, which will be in late April 2019. Candidates will qualify for the second phase by creating a creative video presentation for a duration of 90 seconds. Videos must be recorded in English, and the candidate must present and show his abilities and talents in one of the artistic disciplines.

Two of the most creative, most communicative, most capable and talented finalists will be selected for a trip to Salzburg, with all expenses covered and a week’s stay at the Salzburg Music Camp for Children and Youth, which will be held in August 2019 in Austria.

In the summer of 2018, Verche Andonova and Kostadin Atanasov from Radovish represented Macedonia in Salzburg.

When addressing the candidates for 2019, Solway’s last year scholarship said that the week they spent in Salzburg was of great importance to them, just like all parts of the electoral process until they were selected for scholarship. They have acquired the skill and the ability to communicate in English.

They also explained that speaking the same language (English) with the other students and mentors at the camp helped them get to know each other better with new acquaintances, and to increase their creative skills.

For more details, as well as for applying for the Solway Music Fellowship Program, please visit the website:

http://solwaygroup.com/musiccamp/?lang=mk

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Bucim’s SX/EW plant obtained an IPPC permit

Cathode copper production plant Bucim DOO – Radovish receives an Integrated Pollution, Prevention and Control Permit.

By obtaining the corresponding permit Bucim DOO indicates their commitment to follow strict discharge and emission limits and adhere to the agreed operational plan for compliance to all the environmental standards defined and signed by both – the local Ministry of Environment and the Company.

The cathode copper plant features the environmentally friendly, state of the art solvent extraction electro winning (SX/EW) process designed to improve water management and produce copper from the mine drainage waters. The process leaches copper out of the oxide ore and waste rock (heap leaching), which is then processed using the electro-winning process to produce up to 2800 tonnes of cathode copper per year.

The permit was issued to Bucim DOO –  Radovish after a number of necessary environmental procedures were completed in 2018, including modernization and construction of the ground water monitoring wells. Monitoring stations are located downgrade of the SX/EW plant and supplementary reservoirs to monitor environmental media quality.

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In 2011 Bucim constructed the SX/EW facility to improve water management and produce copper from the mine drainage waters. The completion of the SX/EW plant was the key part of the implementation of the water management plan – a system of several dams and isolated reservoirs has been connected to the SX/EW facility to capture, collect and treat all potentially contaminated water. Corresponding environmental impact assessment (including the stakeholder engagement phase) was submitted by State Authority in 2011.