OREANDA-NEWS. Lebedinsky GOK (“LGOK”) and Oskol Electrometallurgical Plant (“OEMK”), both part of METALLOINVEST (the “Company”), were ranked first and second respectively in a competition of the leading organisations in occupational health and safety amongst mining and metallurgical companies in the Belgorod region in 2012.

The competition has been held by the Miners’ and Metallurgical Workers’ Union of Russia and the Belgorod administration’s Labour and Employment Department since 2000. Its key goals are the promotion of safe working standards, a reduction in accidents, and an increase in workers’ commitment to adhere to the occupational health and safety rules.

The 2012 competition assessed the work of companies against 18 criteria. When choosing the best businesses and winners, the jury gave points to the participants based on the adherence or non-adherence to the occupational health and safety measures.

The participants are divided into four groups according to the number of employees. LGOK was ranked first in the first group. LGOK’s subsidiary companies LebGOK RMZ and LebGOK Transport were amongst the leaders in the second and third groups of workshops, respectively.

Employee safety is one of METALLOINVEST’s key priorities. The Company spends hundreds of millions of rubles each year on measures associated with occupational health and safety. The investment is aimed at realising various projects to increase occupational safety and to acquire overalls, shoes and individuals’ protective clothing. In 2012, LGOK and OEMK committed more than RUB600 million to achieve these goals.