Development of human and professional potential - the main value of Kazakhstan MMC

On June 16, the 12th National Mining & Metallurgy Industry Competition “Golden Hephaestus”, which is held annually as part of the Astana Mining & Metallurgy (AMM) Congress, will take place in the capital of Kazakhstan, at the Nomad City Hall.

Traditionally in June, the competent jury, which includes respected industry experts and representatives of government agencies, will award the best professionals in the mining and metallurgical industry. In 2022, the Golden Hephaestus includes 14 nominations:

• Professional of the Year (four nominations);
• Women in MMC;
• Project of the Year;
• Industrial Safety Leader of the Year;
• The best digital solution in MMC
• Teacher-Scholar of the Year;
• Diploma Work of the Year;
• Media Project of the Year (three nominations);
• Best ESG Strategy (new nomination).

Taking into account the fact that the mining and metallurgical industry has been growing rapidly year after year and is one of the founding industries of our economy, we must remember that human capital is the main factor in the success of any state. For more than ten years, the Golden Hephaestus competition has been of particular importance to industry participants. Every year the best of the best receive awards for their hard work and true professionalism, thus demonstrating that MMC is, first and foremost, about people.

Today over 350 mining and 270 metallurgical companies operate in the industry and the number of MMC employees is more than 206 thousand people. In 2021, 173 participants working in the field of geology, mining and metallurgy, employees of the design, research, educational institutions and enterprises, as well as journalists who write about the mining and metallurgical industry in the Republic of Kazakhstan, competed for the right to possess the Golden Hephaestus Award. And for all the time of the competition, the juries of the Golden Hephaestus considered 1,984 works of the nominees.

Today, the largest mining and metallurgical enterprises focus on environmental responsibility, decarbonisation, putting ESG strategies into practice, carbon neutrality and green metallurgy. “Kazakhstan has created all the conditions to attract foreign direct investment. We need a new Investment Policy Concept to increase the country's attractiveness in the context of the increasing demands of ESG, the global energy and technology approach,” said President K.J. Tokayev.  The best ESG-strategy is exactly the name of the new nomination, the existence of which is due to the challenges facing the New Kazakhstan.

The nomination “Women in the MMC”, which started last year, also has great potential. The most “female” sphere of the extractive industry is the segment of metal ore mining. In this sector, women accounted for 22.2% of all employees, and the number of female employees increased by 0.5% over the year to 18,600. In general, leading companies in the sector note that they strive for gender balance in their teams. For example, the Eurasia Group (ERG) reported that women make up 26% of the total workforce in Kazakhstan. It is separately emphasized that Kazakhstani women are invited to work in the ERG and are provided with a variety of professional and personal benefits (Source).

Participation in the contest is free of charge in electronic format, and the winners of some nominations receive a monetary reward. The students have a chance to do an internship in major companies, the materials of journalists are published in international publications. The collection of applications is already open and will last until June 5.

Holding such a “people’s” industry competition in such a prestigious format was made possible thanks to the full support of the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the traditional General Partner of the event is the ERG (Eurasian Group).

We invite all interested specialists, somehow involved in the MMC sector, to participate in the contest, so your work and high professionalism will be appreciated!

For more information, visit: https://amm.kz/ru/konkurs-zolotoj-gefest/kriterii-otsenki-i-spisok-dokumentov