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Meet one of our rock blasters

Maria Høgås from Mo i Rana is team leader and rock blaster in the mining division. She has built her career at Rana Gruber, starting as a temporary replacement worker back in 2013. Since then, she has obtained certificates to work with several aspects of the mining operations, including transport, drilling, and rock blasting.

As a team leader and rock blaster in the mining division, Maria supervises a team of eight people, and coordinates and executes the daily drilling and rock blasting in the underground mine. 

– Why did you choose to pursue a career at Rana Gruber? 

– The company offers a stable workplace: There is always ore to extract from the mine and you know you have a job tomorrow. At the same time, you get the chance to develop yourself and build a career internally in the company, which I have found very motivating. 

– You got a team leader position in 2021. How was the transition to start leading a team of your colleagues? 

– It felt very natural to me. We have worked together for several years, and we know each other very well. So it wasn’t too big of a change. At the same time, the company is very well managed, which gives the feeling of support and safety. 

– What is the Rana Gruber employee identity like? 

– Being a Rana Gruber employee is something you are proud of. Industry is big here in Mo i Rana, but we are the only ones in the entire country who do what we do, in the way we do it. I think this is really cool and gives a strong Rana Gruber identity. 

Høgås became – together with around 60 per cent of her colleagues – shareholder in Rana Gruber under the admission to trading on Euronext Growth Oslo back in February 2021. 

– I invested when we got the opportunity. I think this gives us not just excitement to follow the price of the stock, but also motivation to work for our continued success. 

– How do you work to implement the principles of lean mining? 

– I believe no one knows how to improve the daily job we do better than us. When operating a mine like ours, there must be continuous and open communication between those who work inside the mine, their managers, and the managers’ mangers. Otherwise, one would never succeed with the highly complex operations that mining involves. Continuous feedback and communication is key to succeed with mining, Høgås says. 

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