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The Policy approved by Citigold Corporation and signed off by the Managing Director, Mr Mark Lynch, is –
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“Citigold Corporation Limited explores for and produces gold profitably and sustainably without harming its employees, the community or the environment.” |
| Citigold Corporation is committed to practicing and upholding the highest international standards of occupational health, safety and environment (OHS&E). Identified as the number one priority amongst both management and staff, and as an integral component to ensuring the company’s operations continue to function efficiently at a high level, since 2003 Citigold has adopted and developed a world leading risk and safety management system – the National Occupational Safety Association (NOSA).
For three years, between 2000 and 2002, Citigold Corporation’s Chief Operating Officer, Mr Chris Towsey, was appointed as the General Manager of NOSA’s Australian chapter, and during his tenure was accountable for profitability in the Asia-Pacific region, and also qualified as an OHS auditor.
History of the NOSA - Five Star Integrated Risk Management System
Citigold Corporation manages its health, safety and environmental risk with the National Occupational Safety Association (NOSA) Five Star integrated risk management system as audited on an annual basis.
Originally established in South Africa in 1951 as a government funded, non-profit organisation and as a direct response towards addressing and counteracting the then high rates of injury and fatality occurring in South African mines and industry, twelve directors and CEOs of major corporations and government departments identified and developed 83 key principles underlying safety and risk management, vital areas which have formed NOSA’s structural five-star management model today.
With its primary objective of not only identifying and reducing but, more importantly, eliminating or mitigating entirely the rate of health, safety and environmental incidents in the workplace including occupational hazards such as diseases and accidents, through identifying the causes and relevant issues and adopting a proactive approach to risk management, NOSA provides a comprehensive safety system that serves to underpin the very success of resource companies such as Citigold Corporation.
One major benefit for Citigold is that through, “empowering clients in commerce and industry to pursue the world’s ‘best practices’, NOSA provides a dynamic and innovative risk management service that includes consulting, training, auditing, and setting standards.”
Citigold has successfully upheld NOSA’s world-class standards through its involvement with employees at all levels, strongly encouraging management and employees to take ownership of and contribute directly to risk management decisions.
Usual measures of Health and Safety performance are reactive, and measured after an incident has occurred. Citigold has in place proactive measurement tools aimed at preventing injuries occurring. These include reporting of hazards and near misses with a protocol for prioritising and promptly fixing the hazards before they result in incidents. Citigold recognises that through foresight, education and training, all incidents should be preventable and strives to achieve a safe mining environment prior to the undertaking of any task. Citigold enhances the safety and health of its employees, contractors, visitors and the wider community through provision of:
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a formal written induction; |
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regular safety meetings to identify any relevant issues before the commencement of each shift; |
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a practice of identifying hazards on the job, training courses as mandated by the Mines Department, First Aid courses, and active mine rescue training. | Performance
Since its formation 15 years ago, Citigold has demonstrated its commitment to OHS&E principles, and regularly undergoes a review by our Board as documented in our ASX releases. As such Citigold has consistently returned a positive performance in this regard. We have reported a high standard of safety in compliance with NOSA’s principles, as externally audited annually by NOSA certified consultants, including:
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zero fatalities; |
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zero health incidents; |
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zero reportable environmental incidents since 2000; |
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only two lost time injuries since 2003; | The Fatal Injury Frequency Rate (FIFR) (fatalities per million hours worked) in the 15 years that the Company has been in operation is zero. There have been no fatalities in our operations, and no injuries or illnesses from which employees have not made a full recovery.
These results are driven by, and hinge on, Citigold’s underlying policy as stated above.
This system has enabled the company to maintain a safe operation, a standard that has been achieved by all Citigold staff members and their willing attitude towards OHS&E issues, a supportive Board, and Citigold’s Site Senior Executive.
As we head into the next financial year and beyond, Citigold Corporation’s aim is to continue to monitor, manage and prevent the occurrence of risks and hazards.
(Page updated October 2008)
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