The amount of mining rent in our country is among the highest in the world, so we can compare it with developed mining countries such as Japan, Australia, Brazil, Russia and Indonesia, said the Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović Handanović.
During the debate on the budget for 2024 in the Parliament of Serbia, she pointed out that in the first 10 months of this year, 15.7 billion dinars were paid into the Serbian budget from mining rent fees, which is 10 percent more than in the first 10 months of last year. , announced the relevant ministry.
“In the public and in certain political circles, there is constantly wrong information about the amount of mining rent and it is said that someone is extracting mineral resources by working against the interests of our country. This is not true. Such statements mostly come from those who do not have enough connection with the profession and the mining vocation.” said the minister.
She added that the amount of the fee in Serbia in the metal sector is among the highest in the world and is regulated by the Law on Fees for the Use of Public Goods.
For metallic mineral raw materials, the fee is calculated according to the income that the payer receives from the used or sold mineral raw materials and amounts to five percent of the income, or the calculation is net income from processing when it exists.
She stated that in the third quarter of this year, a high share of mining and electricity production in GDP growth was achieved in the amount of 17 percent, which means that they are one of the most important drivers of the Serbian economy.
The minister pointed out that mining is the leading sector in the growth of industrial production in Serbia, that its participation in GDP has doubled to 2.4 percent, which is significantly contributed by the operations of the Zijin Mining Group, and added that the company has changed the business and social environment in eastern Serbia.
“In the past five years, the cumulative social contribution of the Zijin company amounts to more than five billion dollars, including more than 400 million dollars obtained from the collection of taxes and fees, that is, approximately four billion dollars in salaries and payments to suppliers,” she said.
She added that more than 8,000 workers are employed in the Zijin Mining Group, while the budgets of Bor and Majdanpek have increased several times and that with the completion of the smelter in Bor, which began trial operation in September, the production of cathode copper will increase from 80,000 to 180,000 tons. which will make us one of the largest copper producers in Europe.
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