Dominic Hamers highlights Geotechmin’s contribution to the sustainable development of municipalities at EMBF
For the first time in Bulgaria, high-ranking European and global experts from politics, business and academia discussed strategies for development of the mining sector in the context of the European Critical Raw Materials Act during the 6th European Mining Business Forum in Sofia.
- What steps should the Member States take, in particular the mining companies, to achieve the EU’s strategic goal for increasing their own raw materials production from the current 3% to at least 10% by 2030?
- How to balance the interests of business and EU’s climate neutrality and sustainability objectives?
- What is the impact of the mining companies on local communities’ welfare?
These questions and other important issues were at the center of discussions during the forum. Mr Dominic Hamers, Executive Director of Geotechmin OOD, participated in the panel Sustainable Development – Importance and Contribution of the Mining Industry to the Economy and Regions. ‘Every large company makes a substantial socio-economic impact on the region where it operates. Ellatzite-Med, part of GEOTECHMIN GROUP in Bulgaria, has contributed significantly to the advancement of Etropole, Mirkovo, Chavdar, Zlatitsa, Chelopech, and other municipalities,’ he said adding that the contribution made by the company and GEOTECHMIN GROUP has a triple impact – economic, employment and corporate social responsibility.
Regarding Ellatzite-Med’s economic impact, according to data provided by the Institute for Market Economics (IME), the total payments made by the company to the municipalities in 2022 amount to 73% of Mirkovo Municipality’s own revenue, for Etropole Municipality – 67%, for Chavdar Municipality – 45%, etc.
In terms of its employment impact, the company is one of the largest private industry employers in Bulgaria. More than 83% of all company employees come from Srednogorie and Etropole regions, 40% of whom are from Etropole Municipality.
The average monthly salary paid by Ellatzite-Med is 55% higher than the average salary in Sofia region and 16% higher than the average salary in the regions of Srednogorie and Etropole. The company paid BGN 40.9 million in net salaries to workers and employees in Srednogorie and Etropole regions in 2022. Furthermore, Ellatzite-Med paid social benefits of BGN 5.6 million to all employees and has a total net labour input in Srednogorie and Etropole regions in the amount of BGN 75 million in 2022.
‘All this constitutes a considerable resource that remains for the regions. With these high salaries and higher purchasing power for our employees and their families, we also contribute to the development of other economic activities in these regions,’ added Mr Hamers.
Last but not least, he talked about the corporate social responsibility programmes implemented by GEOTECHMIN GROUP’s companies. ‘We have been making continuous investments in socially significant projects. For 5 years, only through Bulgarian Virtues Charity Programme, we have completed more than 170 projects and have made donations which helped improve the overall standard of living in the regions where we operate.’
