The international mining technology trade fair EuroMining 2013 was held in Tampere on September 11 and 12. This, the first ever EuroMining trade fair had 191 exhibitors from 11 countries. The event attracted a total of 3,874 visitors – including John Chadwick from International Mining. The EuroMining trade fair was opened by Mari Pantsar-Kallio, Strategic Director of the Ministry of Employment and the Economy, who also presented the first ever Environmental Contribution of the Year award as part of the opening seminar. This new award was given to drilling contractor Oy Kati Ab Kalajoki . The award was accepted by Kati’s Business Manager Matti Rautakoski.

“We have invested in environmentally friendly activities for over ten years. We see this award not only as an acknowledgement of our work, but also as an incentive to continue with what we are doing. Our company’s core values include respecting the environment and developing our operations so that the environmental impact is minimal. Our main service is diamond drilling which means drilling rock samples from the bedrock, often in the middle of unspoiled nature, in swamps and forests. Working in the middle of the wilderness requires an ability to assess your activities critically and the willingness to invest in continuous development work. We want to do our part in strengthening the mining industry as an industry where the interest of the environment is a high priority,” said Rautakoski.

Kati has been operating in the field of mining and mineral exploration for over 30 years. Its main service is diamond drilling which can produce rock samples from a depth of 2,000 m. The ISO 14001 environmental management system was certified ten years ago and it has been an important tool in developing the company’s operations according to the principles of sustainable development. The jury said that the certification of Kati’s environmental management system as the first drilling contractor in the Nordic region, the personnel’s commitment to environmental values and the efficient drilling equipment developed within the company decided the recipient of the award. As one of the outcomes of the company’s development work, the jury mentioned Kati’s closed-cycle system which is suitable for Nordic conditions and which enables the reduction of water consumption in the drilling process and leaves fewer traces in the environment.