The president of the board of directors of Zijin Mining, Chen Djinge, said today that the company’s plan is to increase the annual capacity of the Serbian project to 450,000 tons of copper and 10 tons of gold, which will make Serbia the largest producer of copper in Europe.
During the visit of journalistic teams from Serbia to China, with the aim of getting to know the green mining to which Ziđin Mining is committed, he said that the company’s investment in the former RTB Bor was four times higher than the planned 1.26 billion dollars and that the production exceeded expectations and obligations from the Agreement signed in 2018.
“Last year, Zijin produced 240,000 tons of copper and 7.5 tons of gold in Serbia, completing the first phase of construction,” said Chen Jinge.
He announced that Ziđin’s future investments will be focused on the development of underground copper and gold mines, with estimated reserves of copper of around 20 million tons and gold between 700 and 800 tons.
He said that the company will invest more money than anticipated based on the memorandum of understanding signed in September 2023 with the Ministry of Mining and Energy.
“We are currently in the phase of defining a five-year plan with the goal of reducing carbon emissions in all mines, that is, creating green mines,” Djinge said.
He added that they have started testing electric trucks in their mines in China, and if the tests prove successful, they will use the same trucks in the mines in Bor.
Zou Laichang, president of the Zijin Mining Group corporation, said during a conversation with journalists that the share of the mine in Bor, with the production of 240,000 tons of copper per year, is 24 percent of the total production of that company, which has mines in 15 countries.
***
BONUS VIDEO – Locals defy Ziđin: The 15th day of the road blockade has begun in the village of Krivelj near Bor
