www.kingsgate.com.au
18
CHATREE SUSTAINABILITY
Chatree adheres to Kingsgate’s Sustainability 
Policy, a copy of which may be obtained from 
the Company’s website www.kingsgate.com.au. 
The primary aim is to manage the Chatree asset 
ethically, so the people of Thailand and the 
Company prosper together, enjoying safe, fair 
and rewarding working relationships and a 
healthy living environment. 
The following sustainability section is a summary 
of a separate detailed document termed ‘The 
2013 Akara Resources Public Company Limited 
Sustainability Report’, which is published in both 
English and Thai language. 
Community
Chatree Gold Mine is located 280 kilometres 
north of Bangkok on the provincial border 
between Phichit and Phetchabun provinces.  
The many villages around Chatree still lead a 
predominantly agrarian lifestyle, with rice 
growing as the main activity. It is important, 
therefore, that Chatree is a good corporate 
citizen for our immediate neighbours and in 
Thailand generally. Chatree has as a primary 
goal to minimise the impact of mining opera-
tions to those living and working nearby. We 
seek to achieve this through regular meetings 
and consultation with local government and 
village groups and through assisting the 
community in times of need.
Community Funds
Corporate social responsibility at Chatree is  
a continual commitment by our business to 
behave ethically and contribute to economic 
development in the local area improving the 
quality of life of our workforce and their families 
as well as the local communities in which we 
operate. There are four funds which have been 
established. These are made up of an EIA Fund 
for any environmental impact, an Or Bor Tor 
Fund (sub-district Fund), a Village Fund and an 
Akara for Communities Fund. Committees have 
been formed to manage each fund which is 
made up of government officials, village leaders, 
and employees from Chatree to ensure transpar-
ency and diligent project management.
Employees
Chatree has been free of lost time injuries for the 
tenth year in a row. This exemplary safety record 
would be difficult to achieve without manage-
ment support. It is however, the employees and 
contractors who have made a safe workplace a 
reality by ensuring a safe environment for them-
selves and their workmates. Chatree employees 
and contractors have excelled in this regard and 
Kingsgate congratulates and thanks them for 
their sustained efforts. 
The Chatree workforce totalled 1,326 at the  
end of the financial year comprising 381 Akara 
employees, 740 with our mining contractor 
LotusHall and 4 expatriates. Turnover for Akara 
permanent employees during the financial year 
was 5.9%.
Chatree has received its fourth Welfare and 
Relations Award from the Department of Labour 
Protection and Welfare, as well as the Ministry 
of Labour and Best Employer Award from Aon 
Hewitt and Sasin University in 2012. Chatree 
has also maintained its certificate of TLS/
SA8000 since 2009.
Our business is really all about people. As a first 
rate workforce is essential to our success, we 
continue to ensure we have the right people in 
the right role doing the right work at the right 
time. Akara Mining Limited offers comprehensive 
training in relevant safety and job-related areas 
to all our people. We also assist our employees 
to obtain tertiary education qualifications. Thus 
far, 33 employees have been sponsored for 
Masters level degrees, 10 employees for Bachelor 
level degrees and eight employees for Diploma 
Certificates.
Operations Report