Today we are hosting an entry written by Nick Groves, Head of the Embassy Commercial Section.
As with the UK, Serbia spends a lot of time and effort in trying to attract foreign businesses to set up their operations here. It has often been pointed out to me that British investors in Serbia are notable by their small number. In these tough economic times, it was a fair bet that the situation wouldn't change. So it was a happy task for me last week to travel down to Ljubovija on the Bosnian border to attend the opening ceremony of the Veliki Majdan mine.
Veliki Majdan is a formerly state-owned lead and zinc mine nestled in the hills above the beautiful Drina river, which separates Serbia from Bosnia. In recent times, it had fallen on hard times and had been put into liquidation, meaning that the mine had not functioned for the past several years. Three years ago, the UK-based company Mineco Ltd, bought the majority share of the mine and set about restoring it to a workable state. The first year alone was spent pumping water from the many flooded levels. The company then had to repair collapsed tunnels and replace damaged or missing equipment. Finally, after investing over €3 million, the mine is back in production.
All this is good news for Ljubovija. With over 200 employees, Veliki Majdan is the largest employer in the area. Although only in the initial stages, the mine produces 4500 tonnes of ore each month, which already matches its former level of production. And with the product being exported for use in the automotive industry, the re-opening of the mine is also good news for the wider Serbian economy.
Interestingly, the new ownership of Mineco Ltd brings the mine full circle. It was the British who first exploited Veliki Majdan at the end of the nineteenth century. The cobbled road they built from the river to the mine is still in use. I wish the new owners and the workers of Veliki Majdan every success in the future.
Posted at 16:34 12 October 2009 by Stephen Wordsworth | Comments[0]
- Share this with:
-
-
-
-
-