According to the opinions of both governmental and nongovernmental institutions, case studies and business results, Rudnik is among the top five examples of privatisation in Serbia. This is the first privately-owned mine of non-ferrous metals with underground exploration since World War II, and is today one of the most successful companies in this sector of industry
We have hired more than 250 new workers over the last 15 years, while we have mining reserves for at least another 10 years of production. Investments in geological exploration have increased 13-fold and resulted in another 4.5 million tonnes of ore. During 15 years of operations, over 3.5 million tonnes of ore have been processed, approximately a billion dinars has been invested in equipment and average monthly production levels have increased from 10,000 to 24,000 metric tonnes.
You have received a large number of awards and acknowledgements. Which would you single out as being the most important?
– Since the launch of operations, we have received six awards from the Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Serbian and the Kraljevo Regional Chamber of Commerce for our successful operations, outstanding contribution and results achieved in the development and advancement of the economy.
We devote special attention to health and safety at work and have reduced the number of injuries from 47 to an average of just four per year. We are very proud that we received the international award for safety at work from the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work for 2016/2017. That was the first time that an enterprise from the territory of the former Yugoslavia received this award. In addition to that, we are pleased that this was also recognised by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and to date we’ve received three national awards in this domain.
In the area of corporate social responsibility, in 2016 we received recognition from the Smart Kolektiv and the Forum for Responsible Business, as well as the CCIS National Award for Corporate Social Responsibility, with 1st place in the category of medium-sized companies. The year 2018 was marked by the VIRTUS Award for contributions to the local community in which the company operates, which is awarded by the Trag Foundation, and we ended 2019 with the “Flower of Success” acknowledgement in the category of “Most Gender Sensitive Company”, which is awarded by the Association of Business Women of Serbia. Only 10% of employees at the company are women, but they achieve excellent results with their engagement and work.
What plans do you have for the period ahead?
– Our mission is to preserve the mine and hand it down to the generations that are to come after us. We are continuing with ambitious plans, primarily in finding new reserves of ore, investing in new equipment and technologies, increasing ore production and processing, increasing safety at work etc.