The copper and gold mine Cukaru Peki near Bor, owned by the Chinese company Zijin mining, will most likely be opened on Friday in the presence of Aleksandar Vucic, the President of Serbia. It was announced earlier that the mine would start working in the summer of this year, but later that deadline was moved to the fall.
While the authorities point out that with its construction, Serbia will get its “first green mine that will have higher environmental standards thanks to 21st century technologies”, the expert public does not believe in that and does not expect the Chinese investor to respect environmental standards or believe in strict control of the authorities.
The copper and gold deposit Cukaru Peki is located in eastern Serbia, five kilometers south of Bor. The estimated amount of ore in the upper zone of the deposit is 46.1 million tons, with a copper content in the ore of 2.71 percent and gold of 1.7 grams per ton.
The company Zijin, which is also the owner of the nearby Mining and Smelting Basin “Bor”, built a mine of underground exploitation, with all the accompanying facilities for processing and transporting ore and disposing of tailings. The investor set aside 474 million dollars for the development and construction of the upper zone of the Cukaru Peki mine. It is expected that after it starts exploiting copper and gold, its annual capacity will amount to 3.3 million tons and that the production of copper concentrate will increase. Authorities point out that this is significant due to GDP growth and job creation. Cukaru Peki is currently one of the richest ore deposits of copper and gold in the world. With its commissioning, Serbia is expected to become the second largest producer of copper and gold in Europe, behind Poland, which ranks first. The mine should employ a total of 1,205 workers.
On the other hand, the study on environmental impact assessment prepared by the Institute of Metallurgy and Mining from Bor states that the negative effects in all phases of mine exploitation that will occur to a greater or lesser extent permanent destruction of land after tailings formation, changes landscape and destruction of ecosystems in the areas above the reservoir, emissions of dust and gases, the impact of mining waste on soil and groundwater and surface water.
Economist Milan R. Kovacevic told Danas that there are significant reserves of copper and gold in the Cukaru Peki deposit, but that Serbia will not benefit much from it.
The owner of the mine is a Chinese company, which will receive all the profit made by selling the ore. It is a great pity that copper and gold in Cukari Peki are not exploited by some domestic company, either state or private. According to the interests of Serbia, that would be a far better solution because the realized capital would remain in the country – states Kovacevic.
Our interlocutor does not believe that the company Rakita Exploration, whose ultimate owner is Zijin Mining, will do everything in its power to protect the environment.
– I do not expect that for the Chinese it will be a priority for investment. They are primarily interested in making a profit. Accordingly, it is possible that there will be irregularities in the segment of prescribed environmental norms. Also, I am not sure that the authorities in Serbia will try to control and sanction possible violations of the prescribed rules for environmental protection by the Chinese company – Kovacevic points out.
Environmental activist Aleksandar Jovanovic Cuta does not think that Zidjin’s mining will adequately protect the environment.
– Already now, due to the actions of the Chinese company, the environment in that part of Serbia is already very polluted. Accordingly, the mine should not be allowed to be put into operation. Serbia, on the other hand, needs jobs and investments. This means that the construction of the mine and its commissioning are acceptable, but under certain conditions. The first is for an independent and expert commission to assess whether the construction of a copper and gold mine is detrimental to human health and the environment. If it is, it cannot be its construction. If there is a possibility for it to be built and the environment to be adequately protected, then there is no reason not to exist. The second is that all measures for the protection of environment and modern technology that provide it, and are applied in developed countries, will be an integral part of the mine Cukaru Peki. Only the construction of such a mine can be approved, not everything else. What has been built now does not meet the criteria we are talking about, it is harmful to the environment and, accordingly, it is not acceptable – says Jovanovic, Danas reports.
