Photo: Beta/Sasa Trifunovic
On April 24, the chairman of the board of directors of China’s ZiJin Mining Group, Chen Jinghe, said that the company intends to increase annual production of Serbia’s Bor mining basin – which is majority owned by ZiJin – to 450,000 tons of copper and 10 tons of gold, making Serbia Europe’s largest copper producer.
Speaking to Serbian journalists visiting China to learn about the green mining practices ZiJin is dedicated to, Chen explained that his company invested four times more than the planned USD1.26 billion in developing the Bor mining basin, as a result of which production has exceeded both expectations and the obligations from the contract signed with the Serbian government in 2018.
While ZiJin owns mines in 15 countries worldwide, the Bor mines currently account for 24 percent of ZiJin’s total output.
“Last year, [Serbia ZiJin Copper ltd.] produced 240,000 tons of copper and 7.5 tons of gold, fulfilling its first stage of development,” Chen said.
He also announced that future ZiJin investments will focus on developing Bor’s underground copper and gold mines, which are estimated to contain about 20 million tons of copper deposits and between 700 and 800 tons of gold.
“We’re currently defining a five-year plan with the goal of reducing carbon emission at all mines, that is creating green mines,” Chen stated, referencing the company’s commitment to more environmentally-friendly practices.
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