Safety first approach

The safety of the Group's workforce is of paramount importance. Ferrexpo strives to promote a safety first culture, and there can be no success without safe working environments.

0.51

Lost time injury frequency rate in 2022, materially below Group's 5Y average.

3,960

Employee safety training courses in 2022 (2021: 3,426)

40%

Site based employees demobilised to remote working during global COVID-19 pandemic.

A safety first culture is one whereby the health and wellbeing of operatives is put ahead of all other aspects of the business. Safety is the first topic of the Group's regular management meetings and is the first topic that greets anyone arriving at the Group's operations. Through creating a clear signal on safety performance, the Group has developed its operations to be consistently as safe as, or safer than, its peers in the global iron ore industry. This strong performance in safety has continued, with safety performance trending below the Group's own five-year trailing average injury frequency rate in the past three years (2020-2022).

Where injuries occur, the Group endeavours to learn from these events, to improve as a business and reduce the risk of repeating such events. Throughout the business, Ferrexpo's employee remuneration is linked to safety, from operatives to executive management, and this has been a key feature in developing a culture of safety throughout the Group.

Image: refuelling at Ferrexpo's Yeristovo mine.

Lost time injuries and fatalities are the two main indicators of safety applied at Ferrexpo's operations, to assess performance. The Group regularly reports its safety performance in its press releases, financial results and corporate presentations, all of which can be found via the following link here.

Below is a chart showing the trailing twelve-month lost time injury rate for the Group. The Group is proud that its operations are consistently ahead of peers on safety performance, and the Group is determined to maintain this position going forward.

Chart: Strong improvements in safety performance since 2019

Peer group LTIFR represents collective data for iron ore mining companies in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, as published by the Government of Western Australia (link here). Latest available data as of March 2023.

Case Study: Developing a culture of safety on the River Danube

Ferrexpo’s barging subsidiary on the River Danube – First-DDSG – helps transport pellets to its customers in Central Europe. It is the Group’s third largest entity in terms of hours worked, but historically has operated with the highest LTIFR within the Group. Recent actions taken to address this issue have had significant results, however, with barging operations operating LTI-free since 2020. Efforts in safety to achieve this great result have focused on the following areas: (1) additional training, (2) season-specific personal protective equipment, (3) safety related clauses in contracts of employment and (4) a mentoring scheme for senior officers and cadet interns.

Through taking these measures forward, the Group intends to maintain this excellent safety performance for the years ahead, with this an excellent example of delivering a clear improvement in safety performance.