The recent two millionth ounce pour at our Chirano mine was occasion not only for festivities and a virtuoso talent show but also a visit to the mine by Canada’s High Commissioner to Ghana, Christopher Thornley.
He was duly impressed. As he wrote in a letter to Vice President and General Manager Ken Norris, “I am very proud of the positive image of our country that Kinross projects in Ghana. While you are running a first class mining operation, you have also shown exemplary leadership in working with your host communities and ensuring that they benefit from your presence.”
Chirano has over a thousand employees and roughly 900 contractors, 99% of whom are from Ghana. It focuses its community engagement on the areas of education and health services. Kinross has helped to build four schools and a kindergarten to alleviate overcrowding and enable local children to attend schools close-by. We have partnerships with two NGOS in the health sector, the Sefwi Health Initiative and Breast Care International , and we support the Chirano Malaria Control Program which, since its inception in 2009, has contributed to a 20% reduction in the incidence of malaria in beneficiary communities.
Ken Norris is very pleased with the mine’s accomplishment. “It was October 2005 when we poured our first ounce of gold at Chirano, and now 10 years later we celebrate the milestone of 2 million ounces gold poured. This milestone inspires us to set our sights on achieving the 3 millionth ounce by 2019, all the while doing it safely, responsibly and efficiently to the benefit of all our key stakeholders.”
From left to right: HE Gene A. Cretz, Ambassador of the United States; Ken Norris,General Manager; HE Christopher Thornley, Canadian High Commissioner; Mr. Gordon Chakaozada, Australian Trade Commissioner
The delegation gets details on underground operations in Chirano
The delegation poses with the General Manager and Chirano’s employees after visiting the underground operations
