Gold and Copper Mine Cukaru Peki Opens

The Chinese company Zijin opened the copper and gold mine Cukaru Peki near Bor worth USD 474 million, which will be the first green mine in Serbia, on October 24.

This entails the use of modern technology in the excavation of the ores and the highest standards in the field of environmental protection, as announced on the website of the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, who attended the opening.

Vucic pointed out that the opening of the mine was extremely important for Bor and that the east of Serbia had a good future. He added that it was “a fantastic flotation, established in line with the highest global standards”.

The Ambassador of China to Serbia, Chen Bo, said that she was happy that this mine would be a green mine, where the ores will be excavated in line with all the Serbian, Chinese and European environmental protection standards.

– The opening of the Cukaru Peki mine in Bor is of great importance for the economic development of Serbia, for the Serbian-Chinese cooperation and for the citizens of the city of Bor and the environment – Chinese ambassador Chen Bo said and pointed out that the share in the production of copper would increase to 18%, which will make Serbia the second biggest producer of copper in Europe in the upcoming period.

The minister of mining and energy of Serbia, Zorana Mihajlovic, who attended the opening of the mine, stated that, with the opening of the new mine, Serbia was going back among the top European and world producers of copper and gold and also said that the country would be the second biggest producer of those two metals in Europe.

Mihajlovic pointed out that a healthier living environment was the priority and that all the future mines would comply with the highest environmental standards.

– Today is a great day for the workers and citizens of Bor, but also an important day for the whole Serbia, because the fact that we have such quantities of copper and gold surely means that our country is self-sustainable – she said.

According to her, copper is currently one of the most important raw materials in the production of electric cars and electric devices, and it is also used in the IT industry.

She pointed out that the copper from Bor and the lithium from Loznica were the two most important world components in the ecological, economic and energy transition, which allows Serbia to be a global leader.

The deputy prime minister also said that the new mine would improve the further development of not just the mining in Serbia, but of the entire industry and economy.

– We want to have a modern and sustainable mining and to open new mines, but the government, the president and me find it very important to preserve a healthy environment, healthy air, healthy water, healthy land and healthy people – she said.

Mihajlovic pointed out that, as someone who runs the sector of mining and energy, she would strictly ask for all ecological requirements to be met, which pertains to the Chinese party and all other investors.

– I am also proud that the Cukaru Peki mine is the first green mine in our country’s territory and the first one that meets all the global ecological standards – she underlined, as reported on the website of the Government of Serbia.

An annual production of 3.3 million tons of copper and gold ores is planned at the new mine, Beta reports, and the exploitation reserves amount to 36,990,000 tons of ore.

With the opening of this mine, where over 1,200 people should be employed, Serbia will become the second biggest producer of copper in Europe, after Poland, and its participation in the production of this ore will increase from the current 5% to 18%.

The reserves in the upper zone of the Cukaru Peki site, for which the company has obtained the permit and where the excavations are to begin, have been estimated at 1.28 million tons of copper and 81 tons of gold.

The Chinese company expects the production of 50,000 tons of copper and three tons of gold in 2021.

The new copper and gold mine will be the first green mine in Serbia, which means that it will use modern technologies for ore excavation and the highest environmental protection standards.

Serbia Zijin Copper doo Bor

Predsedništvo Republike Srbije

Ministarstvo rudarstva i energetike Republike Srbije

Ambasada NR Kine Beograd

Cukaru Peki

Chen Bo

Aleksandar Vucic

Zorana Mihajlovic

mine

gold

copper

opening