Occupational Health and Safety - Öksüt Madencilik

Occupational Health and Safety at Öksüt

At Öksüt, occupational health and safety (OHS) is a fundamental work culture that we have integrated into all our processes, systems, and practices. Our goal is to continuously strengthen the awareness of safe working practices by implementing a zero-accident approach in every area.

Working safely every shift is not an option for us, but an integral part of our work. No task takes precedence over working safely.

The health, safety, and well-being of our colleagues, subcontractor teams, and the communities we serve are at the core of everything we do. Our goal is to move toward zero accidents with a safe production approach and to ensure that everyone can return home safely to their loved ones with our “Safety at Work, Safety at Home” approach.

We believe that all accidents and injuries are preventable. Therefore, our priority is to identify and manage risks at an early stage and eliminate them entirely where possible.

To reinforce this approach, we implement comprehensive training programs and support a culture of safety not only in the workplace but also at home. We integrate artificial intelligence and digital technologies into our systems to monitor risks in real time, keep our colleagues informed instantly, and maintain proactive safety management.

We leverage automation and innovative solutions in high-risk jobs and develop strong partnerships with our colleagues, contractors, and the communities where we operate to strengthen the safety culture.

Compliance with National and International Standards

We conduct our occupational health and safety processes in accordance with both Turkey’s Occupational Health and Safety Law No. 6331 and related regulations, as well as international standards. In this context, we fully comply with the requirements of the ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Management System, the ICMC (International Cyanide Management Code) – Cyanide Management System, and the Major Accident Prevention Policy (MAPP) defined under the SEVESO Directive.

Proactive Risk Management:

We identify potential hazards at an early stage and take the necessary precautions.

Continuous Improvement:

We regularly review our security performance and continuously improve our processes.

Behavioral Security:

We are creating a safety culture that encourages safe behavior and is participatory and awareness-focused.

Proactive Risk Management with Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technologies

We effectively use artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies to detect risks early, increase operational efficiency, and strengthen the security culture.

We monitor the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) in real time with AI-supported systems. When a deficiency or violation is detected in PPE, we alert our coworker immediately, thereby preventing potential risks.

We detect dangerous behaviors in real time and provide fast and effective intervention by alerting our coworkers with instant notifications.

It instantly detects risky behaviors such as driver fatigue, not wearing a seatbelt, or using a phone while driving; we support safe driving by alerting the driver.

Field observations, inspections, and hazard reports are instantly transferred to the system via mobile devices. We regularly analyze this data and continuously provide feedback based on the findings to improve our safety performance.

We receive all accident and near-miss reports via a digital platform; by working in an integrated manner with root cause analysis applications, we ensure that post-incident actions are tracked accurately and quickly.

Our Comprehensive Practices That Strengthen Our Security Culture:

We implement multi-dimensional practices to spread our safety culture not only in the field but in all areas of life:

Here’s Security, Home Security Program

In line with Centerra Gold’s global vision, this program positions safety not merely as a procedural requirement but as a fundamental responsibility that permeates every aspect of life.

This interactive training and workshop program aims to strengthen the safety culture with the participation of all our colleagues. The program consists of fundamental topics such as the importance of communication, safe behaviors, individual responsibilities, and leadership reflexes.

The training sessions are conducted by our in-house trainers (facilitators), who are selected from different departments and specially prepared. The participation of our senior managers at the beginning of each session reinforces the program’s corporate ownership and leadership’s support for the safety culture.

We make the learning process more participatory, effective, and lasting through interactive games and scenario-based group work. At the end of the program, we obtain commitments from participants to maintain safe behaviors, support the safety culture, and initiate new behaviors.

With our “Safety at Work, Safety at Home” approach, we aim to ensure that the safety culture is embraced not only in the mine site but in every aspect of our colleagues’ lives.

Visible, Tangible Leadership

We aim for every employee to be a leader in occupational health and safety. With this approach, our “Visible Felt Leadership” program focuses on strengthening safety interactions between management and field teams.

As part of the program, our managers regularly visit the field, communicate directly with our employees, make observations, and evaluate safety-related issues together. These interactions are not just inspections; they enable mutual learning, build trust, and reinforce safe behaviors in a visible way in the field.

With the “Visible Felt Leadership” approach, our goal is to make safety culture a value that is built together and actively felt in the field, rather than imposed from the top down. Thus, safety is transformed from being merely rules and procedures into an example of leadership reflected in daily behavior.

Front Line Supervisors Security Coaching

To strengthen our safety culture in the field, we run a special safety coaching program for our front-line supervisors and team leaders. As part of the program, our managers receive comprehensive training in safety coaching, a coaching-based approach to safety, and behavioral safety.

Following the training, practical coaching processes in the field ensure that our leaders support safe behaviors, guide their teams, and make safety a natural part of daily operations. In this way, safety is embedded in the field not only through rules but also through leadership behaviors.

Life-Saving Information: First Aid Training for Everyone

We provide comprehensive and certified first aid training to all our colleagues.

Thanks to this training, our colleagues gain the competence to respond consciously and effectively to emergencies they may encounter both in the mine and in their daily lives. First aid knowledge is not just a requirement for us; it is a concrete reflection of the importance we place on the safety of our colleagues and their loved ones.

Here’s Security, Home Security Program

In line with Centerra Gold’s global vision, this program positions safety not merely as a procedural requirement but as a fundamental responsibility that permeates every aspect of life.

This interactive training and workshop program aims to strengthen the safety culture with the participation of all our colleagues. The program consists of fundamental topics such as the importance of communication, safe behaviors, individual responsibilities, and leadership reflexes.

The training sessions are conducted by our in-house trainers (facilitators), who are selected from different departments and specially prepared. The participation of our senior managers at the beginning of each session reinforces the program’s corporate ownership and leadership’s support for the safety culture.

We make the learning process more participatory, effective, and lasting through interactive games and scenario-based group work. At the end of the program, we obtain commitments from participants to maintain safe behaviors, support the safety culture, and initiate new behaviors.

With our “Safety at Work, Safety at Home” approach, we aim to ensure that the safety culture is embraced not only in the mine site but in every aspect of our colleagues’ lives.

Visible, Tangible Leadership

We aim for every employee to be a leader in occupational health and safety. With this approach, our “Visible Felt Leadership” program focuses on strengthening safety interactions between management and field teams.

As part of the program, our managers regularly visit the field, communicate directly with our employees, make observations, and evaluate safety-related issues together. These interactions are not just inspections; they enable mutual learning, build trust, and reinforce safe behaviors in a visible way in the field.

With the “Visible Felt Leadership” approach, our goal is to make safety culture a value that is built together and actively felt in the field, rather than imposed from the top down. Thus, safety is transformed from being merely rules and procedures into an example of leadership reflected in daily behavior.

Front Line Supervisors Security Coaching

To strengthen our safety culture in the field, we run a special safety coaching program for our front-line supervisors and team leaders. As part of the program, our managers receive comprehensive training in safety coaching, a coaching-based approach to safety, and behavioral safety.

Following the training, practical coaching processes in the field ensure that our leaders support safe behaviors, guide their teams, and make safety a natural part of daily operations. In this way, safety is embedded in the field not only through rules but also through leadership behaviors.

Life-Saving Information: First Aid Training for Everyone

We provide comprehensive and certified first aid training to all our colleagues.

Thanks to this training, our colleagues gain the competence to respond consciously and effectively to emergencies they may encounter both in the mine and in their daily lives. First aid knowledge is not just a requirement for us; it is a concrete reflection of the importance we place on the safety of our colleagues and their loved ones.

Our Programs Supporting Family Participation and Raising Awareness:

We implement multi-dimensional practices to spread our safety culture not only in the field but in every area of life:

Accompanying Program

We host our colleagues’ spouses at our mine site to share our occupational health and safety culture, working conditions, and daily operations firsthand.

Spouses participate in site tours with KKE representatives, closely observing the work environment and gaining a deep understanding of our colleagues’ responsibilities.

Occupational Health and Safety Theater Event

We aim to increase awareness of workplace safety and change unsafe behavior patterns by leveraging the compelling narrative power of theater.

Through our staged scenarios, we powerfully convey the reality that workplace accidents have not only individual but also familial consequences. In some plays, we include our coworkers’ family members to amplify the message’s impact.

Health and Well-being

At Öksüt Mining, the health of our colleagues, their families, our contractors, and the communities we are part of is our top priority. We operate with the approach that “all accidents are preventable” and maintain our occupational health and hygiene standards at the highest level.

We offer regular health screenings, clinical counseling, ergonomic support, nutrition counseling, and support programs at our sites; we strengthen the physical and mental well-being of our colleagues through awareness training. We work with local stakeholders to address the needs of the community and raise awareness on health issues.

Employee Support Programs

Designed to be accessible to both our employees and their immediate family members, this program offers professional services in many areas, including psychological counseling, healthy nutrition counseling, newborn care information, medical information and counseling, ergonomic counseling, financial information, legal counseling, technology counseling, veterinary counseling, and home/garden work counseling.

Nutrition and Healthy Living Support

Our on-site dietitian prepares healthy nutrition plans tailored to the needs of our employees. Daily menus are balanced and organized according to healthy living principles, and personalized nutrition programs are created when necessary.

This practice supports the physical endurance and overall health levels of our employees, directly contributing to a safe and productive work environment.

Psychological Safety

At Öksüt Mining, safety is not limited to the equipment and procedures used on site; it also encompasses an environment where our thoughts, concerns, and suggestions can be freely shared.

Accompanying Program

We host our colleagues’ spouses at our mine site to share our occupational health and safety culture, working conditions, and daily operations firsthand.

Spouses participate in site tours with KKE representatives, closely observing the work environment and gaining a deep understanding of our colleagues’ responsibilities.

Occupational Health and Safety Theater Event

We aim to increase awareness of workplace safety and change unsafe behavior patterns by leveraging the compelling narrative power of theater.

Through our staged scenarios, we powerfully convey the reality that workplace accidents have not only individual but also familial consequences. In some plays, we include our coworkers’ family members to amplify the message’s impact.

Health and Well-being

At Öksüt Mining, the health of our colleagues, their families, our contractors, and the communities we are part of is our top priority. We operate with the approach that “all accidents are preventable” and maintain our occupational health and hygiene standards at the highest level.

We offer regular health screenings, clinical counseling, ergonomic support, nutrition counseling, and support programs at our sites; we strengthen the physical and mental well-being of our colleagues through awareness training. We work with local stakeholders to address the needs of the community and raise awareness on health issues.

Employee Support Programs

Designed to be accessible to both our employees and their immediate family members, this program offers professional services in many areas, including psychological counseling, healthy nutrition counseling, newborn care information, medical information and counseling, ergonomic counseling, financial information, legal counseling, technology counseling, veterinary counseling, and home/garden work counseling.

Nutrition and Healthy Living Support

Our on-site dietitian prepares healthy nutrition plans tailored to the needs of our employees. Daily menus are balanced and organized according to healthy living principles, and personalized nutrition programs are created when necessary.

This practice supports the physical endurance and overall health levels of our employees, directly contributing to a safe and productive work environment.

Psychological Safety

At Öksüt Mining, safety is not limited to the equipment and procedures used on site; it also encompasses an environment where our thoughts, concerns, and suggestions can be freely shared.

Centerra Gold Inc. I Öksüt Madencilik recognizes that building a team-focused, distinguished culture that delivers sustainable value and growth in a responsible manner, and protecting the health and safety of employees, subcontractors, and the local community, is of vital importance to the Company’s existence and continuous development. Centerra Gold Inc. I Öksüt Madencilik is committed to conducting all its activities, including exploration, construction, operation, and closure, responsibly to provide a safe and healthy working environment for its employees, subcontractors, visitors, and the local community.

Within this scope, the Company will:

Integrate Safety Leadership values into processes and systems to ensure consistency within a team-oriented Zero Accident culture,
Assign occupational health and safety roles and responsibilities to employees at all levels of the organization,
Establish systems to identify, control, or eliminate occupational health and safety risks and ensure the continuity of these systems,
Minimize occupational health and safety risks throughout the evaluation, planning, construction, and operational phases of all sites,
Comply with local, regional, and national occupational health and safety legislation and strive to go beyond these requirements,
Require senior management of each operation and subsidiary to act in accordance with this policy and to be responsible for the development, implementation, and sustainability of site practices, plans, and procedures within this scope,
Require all managers and employees to act in accordance with this policy to identify, assess, and minimize occupational health and safety risks,
Ensure that all employees and contractors receive the necessary training to safely fulfill their occupational health and safety duties and responsibilities,
Involve employees in the development and implementation of occupational health and safety practices and procedures,
Communicate this policy to all stakeholders, inform each of them of their occupational health and safety responsibilities within the scope of their roles in the organization, and encourage them to contribute to the occupational health and safety management system,
Provide the necessary and appropriate resources for the implementation of this policy,
Conduct regular reviews of the management of our operations to achieve continuous improvement in occupational health and safety performance in line with international best practices, and monitor the outcomes of these reviews.

Employee Support Programs

Designed to be accessible to both our colleagues and their immediate family members, this program offers professional services in many areas, including psychological counseling, healthy nutrition counseling, newborn care information, medical information and counseling, ergonomics counseling, financial information, legal counseling, technology counseling, veterinary counseling, and home/garden counseling.

In this way, we strengthen the physical and mental well-being of families and support them in leading safer and healthier lives at home.

Our on-site dietitian prepares healthy nutrition plans tailored to the needs of our employees. Daily menus are balanced and organized according to healthy living principles, and personalized nutrition programs are created when necessary.
This practice supports the physical endurance and overall health levels of our employees, directly contributing to a safe and productive work environment.

At Öksüt Mining, safety is not limited to the equipment and procedures used on site; it also encompasses the freedom to share our thoughts, concerns, and suggestions. We prioritize creating a work environment where our employees feel comfortable expressing themselves and sharing their experiences without fear of making mistakes.

With this approach:

We encourage our leaders to support open communication.
We ensure everyone can speak up when they see a risk by promoting a “Stop – Speak” culture.
We ensure every voice is heard through participatory communication methods (pulse surveys, suggestion systems, safety chats).

Tangible Results Achieved and Our Performance

We have achieved measurable improvements in our occupational health and safety performance and in the overall quality of life of our employees. These data cover not only Öksüt employees, but also all subcontractor employees working on our site.

Significant Achievement

Our Recordable Injury Frequency Rate (TRFIR) has been well below the average TRIR rate for gold mines announced by OSHA since 2022.

This situation clearly demonstrates that our safety performance is at a very high level according to international standards.

Emergency Preparedness

At Öksüt Mining, we have established a structure that is always prepared for potential emergencies. Our search and rescue team, ready to perform 24/7, continuously develops its capabilities through regular drills and scenario exercises. We do not limit ourselves to our own site, but also collaborate with other mining companies and participate in competitions for mutual development.

We reinforce this process with advanced communication systems, crisis management protocols, and regularly updated applications, making the safety of our colleagues and the community our priority under all circumstances.

In the Develi region, near our mining site, we collaborated with local and regional public institutions to highlight a significant gap in public health. In rural areas, particularly among students, access to critical information regarding women’s health is challenging. Therefore, raising awareness about issues such as access to hygiene products is crucial for improving living conditions in our communities.

To address this deficiency, our program brought together 550 students from various schools with experts. The training focused on topics such as physical health, hygiene, and the importance of balanced nutrition. Participants were also given personal care products to support their health and quality of life.

Through these strategic partnerships, Öksüt not only increases access to healthcare services in the community but also raises awareness among future generations. This initiative is a significant step towards the long-term success of young people, aiming to guarantee their access to the information and resources they need.

Quality Management System

Our ISO 45001:2012 Occupational Health and Safety Management System certification demonstrates that our approach, which places the health and safety of our employees at the center, is documented by international standards.

Our ISO 45001:2012 Certificate

SEVESO

Our company is subject to the provisions of the “Regulation on the Prevention and Mitigation of the Effects of Major Industrial Accidents”. The notification specified in Article 7 of the Regulation has been submitted using the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization’s notification system (BEKRA). Within the framework of the BEKRA notification, our organization has been designated as a “High-Level” organization. In accordance with Article 11 of the Regulation, a “Safety Report” has been prepared by our organization.

Occupational Health and Safety Certificate