The Chinese mining giant Zijin Copper on Tuesday said it had temporarily suspended production at the Novo Cerovo mine in eastern Serbia after villagers in Krivelj blocked the road.
It said the blockade had interrupted the supply of raw materials to the mine, and all remaining stocks of diesel, explosives and other supplies had been exhausted.
“Because of all of the above, the company had to stop production in their youngest mine, but it has organised on-site maintenance and hired a few of a total of 280 workers for that. Serbia Zijin Copper respects Serbian laws, adheres to all existing agreements and actively seeks a dialogue with the organisers of the blockade, local authorities and the government of Serbia, to resolve the road blockade peacefully,” the company stated.
Locals in Krivelj, near Bor, a well-known mining city in eastern Serbia, which was taken over by Zijin Group in 2018, have blocked the road leading to the mine since late January.
“Since the takeover of ‘RTB Bor’ by ‘Zijin Copper ‘, the intensity of works has increased significantly, which is endangering the safety and life of the villagers, the entire infrastructure [and causing] significant material damage to private properties in the … village,”, a protest statement from January 30 said.
They claimed local roads have been turned into industrial roads, making safe traffic on them impossible. Locals also say polluted soil, air and water have damaged agricultural production, resulting in lost profits. They have been calling for government mediation for a long time, but so far no deal has been reached that would satisfy them.
Zijin entered Serbia in 2018, paying $350 million to recapitalise RTB Bor and pledging to invest $1.26 billion over the following six years in return for a 63-per-cent stake.
It later took over a project to exploit the Cukaru Peki gold mine deposit, another major project. A BIRN investigation in January 2021 revealed evidence of exploitation of Chinese workers at the former Mining and Smelting Basin Bor, RTB, now owned by Zijin.
Source: Balkan Insight
