About Us

Serbian Overview

Serbia is a relatively small, land-locked country in south-eastern Europe with a highly educated population of just over 7 million. It shares borders with Bulgaria and Romania to the east, Hungary to the north, North Macedonia and Albania to the south, and Croatia, Bosnia, and Montenegro to the west, and benefits from modern infrastructure including an efficient network of highways and an international airport in Belgrade. Subsequent to the political turmoil that swept the Balkans following the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990’s, Serbia has long since been a land of peace, and officially applied for membership of the EU in 2009.

Mining has always formed an important component of the Serbian economy, and for many decades the largest mining operation in the country was the state-owned Rudarsko Topionički Bazen Bor, or RTB Bor copper-gold mine. In 2013, mining and quarrying activities accounted for 2% of Serbian GDP, employing over 22,000 people. The industry primarily produces copper, iron and steel, followed by a significant yield of gold, lead, coal, salt and selenium.

In recent years increased interest in Serbia’s mineral potential has been brought about by the discovery of significant high-sulphidation copper-gold mineralization at Čukari Peki – immediately south of RTB Bor – by Reservoir Minerals Inc., and its subsequent sale to Nevsun Resources Limited, and shortly thereafter to Zijin Mining Group Ltd.

Electrum joins other companies active in base and precious metals exploration in Serbia, including Dundee Precious Metals Inc., Adriatic Minerals, Mundoro Capital Inc., and Raiden Resources Ltd. In addition, major mining companies including Zijin Mining, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and JOGMEC are working in the country either in their own right, or under JV’s with third parties.

SERBIAN MINING LEGISLATION

Serbia’s mining industry enjoys efficient government support, the Ministry of Energy and Mining being the Government agency responsible for the mining sector. In 2013, a new Law on Mining and Geological Research stipulating the establishment of the Geological Institute of Serbia and formulating a Mineral Resources Management Strategy was passed. Under this law, entities performing mining activities in Serbia pay and NSR of 5% for all metallic raw materials (Ministry of Energy, Development and Environmental Protection of Republic of Serbia, 2014; Ministry of Natural Resources, Mining and Spatial Planning, 2012, 2014).