Cássio joined Kinross in 2018 and during his time with the company he has distinguished himself through his proactive problem solving, and leadership skills that not only deliver results, but inspire his peers to work together to find efficiencies. 

In 2024, Cássio analyzed the main cause of downtime in the 793D truck fleet by identifying bottlenecks in the corrective and preventative maintenance processes. Cássio developed an action plan to resolve these issues and enhance the performance of mine operations by reducing machine downtime, improving maintenance planning and strengthening communication between operations and maintenance teams. 

As a result of his action plan, Paracatu saw a substantial reduction in Mean Time to Repair (MTTR) – for example, reducing diesel engine replacement times from 144 hours to 32 hours – which created a 90% physical availability rate for the 793D truck fleet. The increase in equipment availability eliminated the need to purchase three additional 793D trucks which generated substantial cost-savings and reduced Paracatu’s environmental impact by having less fuel, dust and noise. 

In addition to the operational and environmental efficiencies fromCássio’s improvements, the maintenance team saw an increase in employee engagement, motivation and productivity by collaborating closely with the planning and operations teams. This resulted in improvements to team processes and an increase in cross-functional brainstorming to identify new solutions and ways to make the workforce operate more efficiently. 

“Cássio is not only a great employee who makes an impact in the workforce, he is someone who inspires and motivates his colleagues to ensure strong team integration and performance. His commitment to delivering results and working safely and efficiently makes him an essential member of Kinross Paracatu.”

Cássio with members of his team and his award at the 2025 award ceremony held in Paracatu

Cássio with Paracatu employees at the 2025 award ceremony held in Paracatu