Nordgold increases investment into Employee Development and Well-Being

London, United Kingdom, 11 March 2020 – Nord Gold SE ("Nordgold" or the "Company"), the internationally diversified gold producer, is increasing funding of its Employee Development and Well-Being Programmes by over 17% to approximately US$9.9 million in the 2020 financial year from US$8.2 million in 2019.

The Nordgold Employee Development Programme (“the Programme”) incorporates the Company’s training and development initiatives in specific areas of knowledge or geographies. In 2019, the overall number of employees who participated in the Programme rose to 71% of Nordgold’s total 8,000-strong global workforce compared to 67% in 2018, mainly as a result of launch of new training courses for managerial and technical personnel and further advancement in application of online e-learning tools and platforms. Nordgold is targeting 70% in 2020, following this additional funding.

The Nordgold Employee Development Programme — key elements

• Nordgold Academy is a bespoke online training tool aimed at accelerating training efficiency and availability. 370 courses on 136 topics in French, English and Russian are currently available in both web-based and mobile versions. In 2019, almost 20% of Nordgold employees completed 197 unique online courses.
• Mining and Maintenance Academies provide high quality training and certification to the most experienced Nordgold employees aiming to obtain professional certification as trainers in underground mining and maintenance. 31 employees have now obtained professional trainer certificates and are currently employed in training roles across the Nordgold operations.
• West Africa Employee Training Centre is a regional initiative which will provide advanced technical skills development opportunities to the Nordgold workforce in Guinea. The US$ 800,000 Centre will be launched in the third quarter of 2020 adjacent to the Lefa mine. Once completed, this centre will enable Nordgold’s 1,300-strong Guinean workforce to further improve their technical skill sets which are unique to their individual roles. Vocational training will also be provided to the local communities. The centre’s facilities will include a maintenance workshop covering 24 different types of equipment, a welding section and a mining fleet operator simulator.
• Self-nomination Programme is an internal procedure which seeks to drive employee career development. Since its launch in 2017, nearly 800 Nordgold employees have applied for new roles and of these, over 20% have subsequently gone on to achieve internal promotions.

The Nordgold Employee Well-Being Programme aims to improve social and living conditions at the Company’s mines to ensure its employees benefit from a healthy, safe and secure workplace.

Key 2019 projects included renovation and floodlighting of a soccer field at Bissa-Bouly, acquisition of new warm jackets for Taparko employees, construction of a new sports center at Lefa, installation of a mobile dining facility and cable TV network in all dorms at Gross-Taborny and the renovation of sports facilities at Zun-Holba and Irokinda.

“The Nordgold Employee Development Programme is more than an ambitious toolkit to accelerate the development of all our employees. It helps us maintain our competitive advantage, namely our people. The mining industry is a competitive sector and it is critical we attract, develop and retain the right talent. We continue to invest heavily in our teams and we believe it is this commitment to our people that has helped build our reputation as one of the best places to work, and a key driver in our ability to develop excellent projects like the Gross mine, our third greenfield development in last seven years. Our aim is to continue to be the choice for ambitious people, who want a long career in the mining sector with us and we will do all we can to help our employees achieve their personal goals.” Yulia SklarHuman Resources Director of Nordgold

About Nordgold

Nordgold is an internationally diversified gold producer established in 2007. Nordgold has a proven track record of operational excellence and benefits from a significant international development pipeline. The Company is relentlessly focused on shareholder value, committed to running safe, efficient, profitable operations, which enable it to generate strong cashflows and in turn, continue to invest in its pipeline of new growth opportunities while generating returns for investors. In 2018, Nordgold produced 907 thousand ounces of gold.

Nordgold operates 10 mines (5 in Russia, 3 in Burkina Faso and one each in Guinea and Kazakhstan). It has several prospective projects in feasibility study and advanced exploration phases, as well as a diverse portfolio of early-stage exploration projects and licences in Burkina Faso, Russia, French Guiana and Canada. Nordgold employs over 8,000 people.

Nordgold
Olga Ulyeva
Head of Media Relations
olga.ulyeva@nordgold.com

Powerscourt
Peter Ogden
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7250 1446