UK metal miner Mineco plans to invest in 2017 for capacity upgrade of its Serbia lead zinc mine

UK metal miner Mineco plans to invest some 1.12 million euro in research projects in the areas of Rebelj, western Serbia and Kram, in Bosnia’s Serb Republic, in 2017.

The company also plans to invest $500,000 in capacity upgrades at its Veliki Majdan lead and zinc mine in Serbia this year, Mineco said in a statement.

The production of Veliki Majdan remained unchanged at approximately 51,000 tonnes of ore in 2016, but the mine boosted its profit thanks to the increase in the global prices of metals, the company said.

As a result, the royalties paid to the Serbian government increased by 34% in 2016 to 47 million dinars, Mineco added.

The Veliki Majdan mine has a total of 300 employees, whose salaries range from $1,000 to $1,500, the metal miner added. 

Since the Veliki Majdan mine restarted production in 2009, over 400,000 tonnes of ore have been processed, and 30,000 tonnes of lead concentrate and 27,000 tonnes of zinc concentrate were produced. The UK company acquired the mine from the Serbian government in 2006, Mineco said. 

Besides the Veliki Majdan mine near Ljubovija, Mineco is also majority owner of Serbian lead and zinc mines Rudnik at Gornji Milanovac and Bosil-Metal at Bosilegrad. 

Elsewhere in Southeastern Europe, Mineco is active in Bosnia and Herzegovina where it operates the Gross mine and develops the Gorazde and Olovo mines.