Polyus Magadan looks back at its social partnership with the region in 2019
In 2019, Polyus allocated RUB 119mln towards the development of the Magadan region, almost five times as the amount it donated the previous year, reports MagadanMedia.
In particular, the company focuses on charitable projects in the Tenkinsky District, home to the Natalka project. Over the year, Polyus contributed approximately RUB 60mln to the district’s development.
In 2019, Polyus continued its cooperation with the local administration under their joint site improvement project, which included allocating RUB 2mln towards the refurbishment of a residential building on 28 Pobeda St. in the town of Ust-Omchug. The funds were used to renovate the front of the building and to replace windows and doors. The joint project started in 2017, when Polyus assisted with the renovation of three residential buildings, and the local administration improved the surrounding area with the installation of new benches, litter bins, fences and lamp posts.
In Autumn, the gold mining company donated a Volvo motor grader to help the municipal authorities maintain the roads and clear snow from the streets in the region’s center.
Polyus volunteered to build the infrastructure required for a new municipal solid waste (MSW) site in the town of Omchak, as well as handling the organisational and administrative responsibilities associated with the project. The site was designed in line with federal legal requirements for MSW management. The company erected earth banks along the perimeter, waterproofed the site, set up a checkpoint (boom barrier and accompanying booth) and allocated a space for disinfecting garbage trucks, as well as drawing up the plans, programmes and reclamation procedures for the project. Now the site, which cost RUB 4.8mln in total, is used by the town’s utility service providers.
An additional RUB 50mln was spent on reversing flood damage in the Tenkinsky District. Polyus managed to restore the flow of traffic on a section of the Palatka-Kulu-Neksikan highway and fortified coastlines and bridges. The combined efforts of Polyus Magadan, Polyus Logistics and Polyus Stroi, coupled with a prompt response helped restore life in Omchak back to normal very quickly.
Polyus and the Tenkinsky District administration are working to relocate the residents of Omchak, currently living in dilapidated and hazardous housing, to Uptar. Four families have already received the keys to apartments in a comfortable residential building, with more Tenkinsky families set to follow shortly. All apartments are being transferred directly to residents under gift deeds.
For a while now, Polyus has been providing targeted aid to Tenkinsky District veterans. In doing so the company is improving the physical living and social conditions of war veterans. In addition, Polyus Magadan employees help with Victory Day preparations, in particular with organising field kitchens and celebrations and with making portraits for the Immortal Regiment march in the towns throughout the region.
A further company priority is taking care of the younger generation: over the five years of their existence, Polyus work teams have provided prestigious summer employment for over 100 students of Ust-Omchug and Omchak schools. The company also gives out scholarships to the most promising students from the Omchak school. High school students have paid several visits to the Natalka mine, where they were given insights into gold production as well as the social and living conditions provided by Polyus as a potential employer.
The cooperation between Polyus and the Magadan Region government extends beyond the Tenkinsky District. Every year, the company helps realize a number of social initiatives in the region, related to education, sports and living a healthy lifestyle, providing assistance to vulnerable population groups, as well as fostering the dissemination of culture and art in the region.
Polyus has also helped further the strategic priorities of national projects in the Magadan Region by allocating RUB 25mln towards the development of design and estimate documentation, capital construction and renovation of important social facilities, including documentation for educational institutions, an 80-bed maternity hospital in Magadan, a Northern Artek recreation centre and a Presidential sports centre. A portion of the funds was also used for the renovation of the Magadan Regional Oncology Center.
In 2019, repair works were completed at the Magadan Polytechnic College Laboratory. The upgraded study room for future miners is part of the company’s continued cooperation with the region’s educational institutions. Members of the Polyus Magadan management team sit on the Board of Trustees of the North-Eastern State University. In Spring 2019, an opening ceremony was held for a new lecture hall at the university’s Polytechnic Institute. Polyus financed the renovation of walls and floors, new lighting equipment and furniture, and an interactive whiteboard and projector. The company also donated a conveyor belt for practical lessons at the university’s mineral processing laboratory.
RUB 2.5mln was allocated for the development of an implementation roadmap for the Men’s Health and Social Longevity regional program. This large-scale project is overseen by the Magadan Region’s Ministry of Healthcare and is aimed at improving the demographics of the region.
RUB 30mln of financing was allocated towards the ‘Territory. Magadan’ festival of contemporary art — a major social initiative in 2019, organized in partnership with the Territory festival-school and the Moscow Museum of Modern Art (MMOMA). Over the seven-day festival, more than 4,000 Magadan residents enjoyed productions performed by leading Moscow theatres. The festival’s exhibition featured more than 60 works from the collections of MMOMA and the Magadan Local History Museum. The cultural project also served to celebrate the anniversary of the region’s administrative centre. A portion of the funds was used for renovating the Magadan Local History Museum.
Once again, Polyus supported the Magadan Crystal Festival of Ice Sculptures. In 2019, the company was the festival’s chief sponsor and allocated RUB 500,000 for the sculptor competition, which attracts participants from different countries and is growing every year.
In the run-up to the New Year, Polyus employees traditionally buy gifts for children from Magadan and Orotukan orphanages. For the fifth year in a row, the company’s Magadan and Moscow offices displayed postcards with gift requests, so employees could fulfil the children’s wishes. On New Year’s Eve 2020, the company’s festive tree had over a hundred postcards on it. The company also provided equipment for a hairdressing room in the Orotukan orphanage. Children in the Tenkinsky District also received gifts: the schools of Ust-Omchug and Omchak were provided with new sports equipment and a touch-sensitive board and a projector.
Source: Magadanmedia.ru