Serb copper mine seeks investment, clean up

A source of wealth for more than a century as home to one of Europe's largest copper mines, Serbia's Bor has struggled for years to attract foreign investment and heal its soiled environment.
RTB Bor, the state-owned company that thrived two decades ago as Yugoslavia's largest copper mine and smelter, fell into disrepair during the 1990s wars, international embargo and mismanagement under President Slobodan Milosevic.

"Our technology dates from 1961 and 1971 and we are in dire need of renewing it," Chief Executive Blagoje Spaskovski told Reuters. Decades of mining with Soviet-era technology have scarred the region, home to about 60,000 people and around 250 km (155.3 miles) southeast of Belgrade.
"We went decades without investment, without new mines and technology such as a new foundry," Slobodan Milosavljevic, Serbia's trade minister, told Reuters. Serbia's efforts to sell RTB Bor failed in 2007 and 2008 as two potential buyers, Romania's Cuprom and Austria's A-Tec, failed to meet terms of the tender.

News source: Reuters.com link: article

Chairman of Cyprus's Point Group Sees 7% Growth in Serbian Copper Business

Cyprus-based Point Group, whose business focuses on the Balkans, will see 7 percent growth in its Serbian copper business this year, following a 15 percent expansion since the start of the global recession, its chairman said.
The group, which is active in agriculture, copper, baking, river transport and real estate in Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Austria, Hungary, Germany and China, owns Valjaonica Bakra Sevojno, whose shares last traded on the Belgrade Stock Exchange in November 2009 at 1,452 dinars per share.
“We were lucky that even during the worst of the crisis we have increased our exports because we have a varied portfolio of products,” Chairman Zoran Drakulic said in an interview yesterday at a management conference in Bled, Slovenia. “Our European partners have lowered their inventories and we were able to respond to increased demand very quickly.”

News source: Bloomberg link: article