Serbia Zijin Copper has submitted an environmental-impact assessment for the Cementacija 2 and Cementacija 3 ore bodies at the Kraku Bugaresku–Cerovo deposit near Bor, advancing another expansion of its Serbian copper operations. The Serbia Ministry of Environmental Protection has opened the assessment for public review.
Ore production and waste generation
The project documentation assigns a best-case net value of approximately $117 million. Cementacija 2 is planned to produce about 3.5 million tonnes of ore annually for roughly seven years. At the planned production rate, Cementacija 2 could yield approximately 24.5 million tonnes of ore over its projected operating period if the planned capacity is fully utilised.
The expansion would also generate approximately 61.1 million tonnes of overburden and waste rock, making the handling and management of waste material a significant part of the environmental assessment. The project forms part of the wider expansion of the Bor mining and processing complex following Zijin’s entry into Serbia. The Chinese group has invested in the existing Bor operations and developed the Čukaru Peki mine. Additional production from the Cementacija ore bodies would expand the operating base of the Bor complex and contribute to the utilisation of processing infrastructure developed in eastern Serbia.
Bor expansion faces environmental assessment
Copper has gained importance in Serbia’s industrial and export activity. Copper demand is increasingly associated with power grids, renewable energy generation, electric vehicles, data centres and wider electrification, while Europe is seeking more secure supplies of critical and strategic raw materials. The environmental review is also taking place against the background of an earlier decision by Serbia’s Constitutional Court concerning development of the wider Krivelj mining complex.
The court previously overturned a government decision after challenges to the treatment of related components within the environmental-assessment process. The ruling reinforced the position that interconnected mining activities should not be separated into individual projects where this would prevent consideration of their cumulative environmental effects. That issue is relevant to the Bor area, where open pits, processing facilities, waste dumps, tailings facilities and supporting infrastructure form part of a closely connected mining system.
Waste management central to project review
For Cementacija, the planned volume of waste material adds significance to the environmental assessment. The extraction of approximately 24.5 million tonnes of ore over seven years alongside the generation of more than 61 million tonnes of overburden and waste rock means the project’s environmental footprint extends beyond the ore bodies. The assessment therefore covers issues associated with extraction and waste management, including waste-storage capacity, water management, dust, transport and the interaction with existing mining operations.
The permitting process has commercial implications for the expansion as well. Serbia’s industrial output is closely connected to European markets, while mining companies supplying those markets face increasing scrutiny from customers, banks and investors concerning environmental performance and supply-chain standards. For Zijin, additional mine development would increase production and support the utilisation of its Serbian processing assets. For Serbia, the project forms part of continued investment in copper mining and the country’s role in European copper supply. The Cementacija 2 and Cementacija 3 assessment is therefore proceeding alongside broader scrutiny of the environmental effects associated with the expansion of the Bor mining complex.
