The Republic Agency for Spatial Planning and Urbanism has approved the development of the Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment (SEIA) for the Spatial Plan of the special-purpose area at the “Čoka Rakita” ore deposit, located in the Crni Vrh area.
The preparation of this SEIA will be financed by Crni Vrh Resources, a subsidiary of the international mining company Dundee Precious Metals (DPM) based in Canada. Crni Vrh Resources is a fully-owned subsidiary of Dundee (Dundee Precious Avala).
According to the decision published in the Official Gazette, the SEIA preparation is part of the broader decision regarding the Spatial Plan. The SEIA will enter into effect as soon as the Spatial Plan’s preparation decision takes effect.
Dundee Precious Metals, in a statement from December last year, emphasized that while the Serbian government’s decision to begin preparing the Special Purpose Spatial Plan is awaited, the company has ensured that all preparatory works are complete and ready for submission. The company has also been proactive in engaging with relevant stakeholders to avoid potential administrative delays.
In the same announcement, DPM shared the results of its previous feasibility study for the Čoka Rakita project, assuming a gold price of $1,900 per ounce. Currently, the gold price per ounce stands at around $2,930.
The previous feasibility study projected mine construction to begin by mid-2026, with the first gold concentrate production anticipated in the second half of 2028. Initial investment estimates for the project stand at $379 million, which will cover the construction of an underground mine, an 850,000-tonne-per-year processing plant using existing equipment from the Ada Tepe mine (Bulgaria), a fully lined dry tailings dump with a capacity of 3.93 million tonnes, and additional infrastructure, such as haul roads, access roads, water treatment, power supply, and site services.
The study estimates the probable mineral reserves at 6.6 million tons, with a gold grade of 6.38 grams per tonne, equating to 1.36 million ounces of contained gold. The mine plan is optimized to access the richest mineralization in the initial years of operation. Over the first five years, the project is expected to produce an average of 170,000 ounces of gold annually, at a gold grade of 7.42 g/t. Over the life of the mine, the average annual production is expected to be approximately 147,000 ounces, with an average grade of 6.38 g/t.
The Republic Agency for Spatial Planning and Urbanism clarified that the SEIA’s preparation is necessary due to the potential environmental impacts and territorial scope of the Spatial Plan for the Čoka Rakita ore deposit area. The aim is to protect the environment, preserve natural values, improve quality of life, and ensure sustainable development within the spatial plan area.
The SEIA will cover parts of the Žagubica municipality, specifically the cadastral municipalities of Laznica – Selište and Žagubica. The final borders of the Spatial Plan will be determined in the draft version of the plan, as noted in the official decision.
