OREANDA-NEWS. December 15, 2011. Sesa Goa Ltd, a part of the Vedanta Resources Group and India's largest private sector Iron Ore mining company (on a stand-alone basis) has been certified to the stringent standards of Social Accountability 8000. This is a unique achievement as this is the first time that an iron ore company has been given the certification internationally.

Bureau Veritas, the international certifying agency for the Social Accountability 8000 Standard, has certified the four major divisions of Sesa Goa Ltd, which are:

Iron Ore Div. - All Mines: Exploration, Mining, Processing, Blending & Dispatch of Iron Ore

Pig Iron Div. - Manufacture of Pig Iron

Met-Coke Div. - Manufacturing of Metallurgical Coke

Ship Building Div. - Design, Construction & Repair, of Self Propelled & Dumb floating crafts/vessels of steel construction

The certifications, issued on the 23rd November, 2011 for a period of three years, have been given for complying with the best management practices in the work place, especially in the areas of understanding of global issues and social impact in the workplace. The parameters of the Standard include practices regarding child labour and the young worker, forced labour, health & safety, discrimination, remuneration, working hours etc.

Mr. P K Mukherjee, MD Sesa Goa Ltd, expressed his satisfaction on receiving the certification for the company for the first time and commented that "Sesa Goa Ltd has been committed to the best management practices for its employees. We are indeed pleased with the unique honour of being the first iron ore mining company in the world to be certified to SA 8000. The management and employees of Sesa Goa will strive harder to perform even better on the parameters set by the Standard".