CENTRAL ASIA METALS PLC

Environmental & Social Information • Apr 22, 2020

National Storage Mechanism | Additional information

RNS Number : 4144K

Central Asia Metals PLC

22 April 2020

22 April 2020

CENTRAL ASIA METALS PLC

('CAML', the 'Company' or the 'Group')

Publication of 2019 Sustainability Report

CAML announces that it has today published its first Sustainability Report, which covers its activities for the year ended 31 December 2019, corporately, and at the Kounrad dump leach, solvent extraction and electro-winning ('SX-EW') copper recovery plant in Kazakhstan ('Kounrad') and the Sasa zinc-lead mine in North Macedonia ('Sasa'). 

The report is available to view on the Company's website at:

https://www.centralasiametals.com/investors/reports-and-presentations/ 

This is the first standalone Sustainability Report that CAML has published, and it includes the Group's approach to transparent business conduct, maintaining safe operations, maximising the value it creates for stakeholders and its efforts to minimise negative environmental or social impacts.

The following key achievements are noted within the 2019 Sustainability Report:

·    CAML lost time injury frequency rate ('LTIFR') of 0.42 (2018: 3.76)

o  One lost time injury ('LTI') at Sasa (2018: six)

o  Zero LTIs at Kounrad (2018: two)

·    CAML total recordable injury frequency rate ('TRIFR') of 0.85 (2018: 3.76)

o  Two recordable injuries ('TRI') at Sasa (2018: six)

o  Zero TRIs at Kounrad (2018: two)

·    2019 CAML social spend of $0.6 million (2018: $0.6 million)

·    99% of CAML site employees and contractors are from the two countries of operation

·    Zero 2019 air quality breaches at either operation

·    Zero 2019 significant spills at either operation

·    43% reduction in 2019 net water consumption at Sasa due to an effective recycling initiative

Nigel Robinson, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"As a Group, we have always taken our social responsibilities seriously, and have for many years provided commentary on what we previously referred to as our Corporate Social Responsibility ('CSR') activities in our Annual Reports. However, we have become increasingly aware of the requirement for additional quantitative disclosure regarding our sustainability efforts and achievements.

"I believe our first report accurately reflects the importance we place upon sustainability in every aspect of our business. While we strive for zero-harm, we are able to report a very low LTIFR by industry standards. We report zero significant spills or air quality exceedances, and we have continued to develop our employees and to look after the communities close to our operations.

"We appreciate that reporting of sustainability related matters will be an evolving process, and we have committed to providing annual sustainability reports going forward. We anticipate many areas for continued improvement in our reporting and welcome feedback from our various stakeholders."

For further information contact:

Central Asia Metals	Tel: +44 (0) 20 7898 9001
Nigel Robinson, CEO
Gavin Ferrar, CFO
Louise Wrathall, Director of Corporate Relations	louise.wrathall@centralasiametals.com
Peel Hunt (Nominated Advisor and Joint Broker)	Tel: +44 (0) 20 7418 8900
Ross Allister
David McKeown
BMO Capital Markets (Joint Broker)	Tel: +44 (0) 20 7236 1010
Thomas Rider
Neil Elliot
Blytheweigh (PR Advisors)	Tel: +44 (0) 20 7138 3204
Tim Blythe
Megan Ray
Rachael Brooks

Note to editors:

Central Asia Metals, an AIM-listed UK company based in London, owns 100% of the Kounrad SX-EW copper project in central Kazakhstan and 100% of the Sasa zinc-lead mine in North Macedonia.

For further information, please visit:  www.centralasiametals.com and https://twitter.com/CamlMetals

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