COVER STORY
Fall 2018 / Issue 59
and indirect employment, and also in
terms of appropriate social contribu-
tions and aiding local development.
In November 2017, Sasa was
acquired by international mining
company Central Asia Metals plc
(‘CAML’) which, in buying the mine,
committed to invest in the operation,
its employees and the local commu-
nity for the long term.
Looking after the local
community
Sasa and its parent company
CAML ensure that social responsi-
bility is one of the strongest commit-
ments. Sasa directly contributes to
the construction and maintenance
of local projects, which is a positive
development for quality of life of local
residents.
In addition, Sasa allocates appro-
priate funding for numerous addi-
tional projects and activities of local
importance such as sports, culture,
science and education, as well as
support to vulnerable social groups.
The mine is also involved and invests
in projects that have a wider national
significance.
Some examples of support that
have been provided in 2018 are:
Sponsoring Kamenica Cultural Sum-
mer; Sponsoring local sport clubs;
Reconstructing the local playground;
Fully equipping the office of the NGO
for disabled people “Poraka”; Spon-
soring the President Ivanov School
of Young leaders and YMCA’s GLOW
and YMLP camps. Currently a proj-
ect to repair the heating system of
the health centre and part of the local
kindergarten has been undertaken.
In order to support the local
communities, Sasa communicates
and cooperates with wide-ranging
members from the Municipality of
Makedonska Kamenica, including
civil society organizations, educa-
tional and scientific institutions, and
prominent figures. The mine has a
strong relationship with the University
Goce Delcev in Stip and has recently
agreed to sponsor 20 students of
mining-related faculties, predomi-
nantly from the local area.
Macedonia in general suffers
from youth emigration, therefore
the company strongly believes that
it is incumbent on all major local
businesses to try where possible to
incentivise young adults to use their
skills and training to enhance the
future of Macedonia. We hope spon-
sorship of mining students will send
a positive message to other industry
leaders.
Earlier this year, we opened in
Makedonska Kamenica a Public
Communication Office located in the
municipality building in order to enable
members of the local community to
talk to mine personnel face-to-face.
In addition, we have agreed to build
a Sasa community website so as to
ensure the families and friends of our
employees are always well informed.
Custodians
of the environment
We at Sasa believe that we are
custodians of the environment in
which we work. Mines typically bring
a great number of positive attri-
butes to local communities such as
employment and financial support,
but it is of great importance to us that
we do not adversely affect the envi-
ronment in which we operate.
We are very proud to be operating
under strict international environmen-
tal guidelines. In fact, Sasa was the
first mine in Macedonia to operate
under an ‘A - integrated environmen-
tal permit’, which is a state-issued
best-practise document that aims
to ensure that the company has an
integrated and comprehensive envi-
ronmental protection approach.
In addition, the International Stan-
dard for Environmental Protection
Management (‘ISO 14001’), has been
fully implemented at Sasa, demon-
strating that, in addition to domestic
legislation, the company aligns its
operations with the best global envi-
ronmental protection practices and
standards.
Sasa provided financial aid for reconstruction of Local playground in M.Kamenica
AmCham Macedonia Magazine
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