Resavica needs EUR 100 mil for consolidation

(Photo: jppeu.rs)

Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy, Aleksandar Antic, has announced today that it takes to set aside some EUR 100 mil in a next few years for consolidation of the Resavica public company for underground coal exploitation.

Upon August 6, the Day of miners, during the visit to Senj mine within Resavica, Antic said the funds should be invested into new findings opening and coal production as well as in shut down of a few unprofitable mines.

When congratulating the Day of Miners to miners, Antic said the investment in mining is one of the Government’s priorities along with the end of the Resavica and RTB Bor restructuring since natural resources and mineral resources of Serbia are a huge developmental chance of the country.

He added that the underground coal exploitation faces difficult situation because the company restructuring process has been lasting for years and they operate in difficult conditions and with subsidies which have been decreasing year in year out.

When asked whether mines will be privatized, Antic said he cannot answer that at the moment. He said that the Government will decide whether some projects of strategic partners who have know-how and technology to develop mining will be allowed.

- One of the promising projects which has been developed for some time now because it presents the future of the underground coal exploitation and energy complex of Serbia is the expansion in the Stavalj mine within Resavica and the construction of new thermal power plant – Antic said and added that it is necessary to set aside EUR 800 mil for the investment as well as a kind of a strategic partnership.

According to him, the Government is careful when it comes to privatization in mining field because some sales of mines did not prove to be successful.

The Minister for Labour, Aleksandar Vulin, who said his ministry will support the initiative to employ 200 miners more here, also visited the Senj mine.

The Resavica General Manager, Vladan Milosevic, said the mines of that public company which employ more than 4.000 people, 600.000 tons of coal is produced annually and if the complete consolidation is achieved, production could increase to five million tons.

Milosevic said that Resavica which has been operating positively during the first six months this year, with subsidies, needs more miners.