Adriatic Metals, a Europe-focused mining company, has received government approval to begin constructing a mining waste storage facility at its Vares silver mine in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The permit allows for the disposal of tailings—discarded mined material—by December 2024.
This approval follows a July court ruling that limited Adriatic’s use of state forest land for mining waste storage. As a result, the company opted for an alternative site at the former Veovaca open-pit mine, located about two kilometers from the Vares processing plant, where Adriatic has full ownership rights.
The new facility will utilize a “dry stack” method, which allows for the safe storage of solid tailings without requiring a liquid reservoir, making it a more stable option than traditional tailings ponds. The Veovaca tailings storage facility (TSF) will be constructed in two phases, with the first phase designed to accommodate four to five years of production waste. This initial phase is expected to cost around $5 million and be completed by the end of 2024.
Currently, Adriatic’s tailings storage facility has a maximum capacity of approximately 133,000 tons, which is projected to be filled within the first month or two of 2025. The company plans to finish the initial construction phase of the Veovaca TSF before that deadline to avoid impacting production or the ramp-up to commercial operations.
Production at Vares commenced earlier this year, marking it as Europe’s first new mine in over a decade. Newly appointed CEO Laura Tyler announced in early October that the operation is in the final phase of reaching its target processing capacity of 800,000 tonnes.
In 2023, Adriatic Metals accounted for nearly 22% of foreign direct investment in Bosnia and contributed 2% to the country’s GDP, deploying 69% of its total capital domestically, equivalent to $155 million, across 739 companies.
Following the announcement, shares in Adriatic Metals rose in both Sydney and London markets. In Australia, shares closed up over 4% at A$4.30, while in the UK, stock prices increased by 3.7% to 221p by 2 PM local time, resulting in a market capitalization of £720 million ($935 million).
