Silver Winner: Ryan Saladino, Mill Operator, Round Mountain

Ryan is a key contributor within the operations department at Round Mountain where he has distinguished himself for his strong technical capabilities, curiosity and commitment to continuous improvement. In addition to outperforming in his day-to-day tasks, Ryan plays a key role in project support, finding ‘outside-the-box’ solutions when challenges arise. This was illustrated by his contributions to managing water flow challenges during the six-month construction period of the site’s upper fire pond. Ryan demonstrated exceptional problem-solving skills to redirect water flows and adapt processes in order to maintain production while successfully completing project construction. Another example can be found through the improvements he made to gold wheel production and recovery at Round Mountain. When Ryan identified inconsistencies with recovery performance, he took full ownership of a project to optimize procedures through consulting with external contractors to find a solution that included using spray bar configurations and wheel tilts to ensure alignment with design intent. He even went a step further and partnered with the metallurgical support contractors to properly structure testing parameters to ensure changes were implemented properly, and developed standard operating procedures for crews to ensure all employees had clear, proper operational guidance. Ryan’s contributions to the workforce and high performance not only provide numerous benefits to the operation but have also strengthened team capabilities through his commitment to teaching and sharing his knowledge with his crew. Ryan is a trusted leader who consistently encourages feedback and shared ownership, promoting an improvement-focused culture at Round Mountain. “Ryan not only delivers results, he elevates how work is done. He is consistently focused on learning, improving and accountability, which makes him a strong representative of Kinross’ values and a deserving candidate of corporate recognition,” said a colleague. Ryan Saladino, Mill Operator, Round Mountain Ryan during the Annual Refresher Training (ART) at Round Mountain Ryan and a colleague during ART