"A-tech" to invest 180m USD and revoke 700 jobs

(Mirko Kovač)

- Austrian industrial Mirko Kovač has big plans for Mining Smelter Basin (RTB) Bor. He plans to increase production and profit – Viennese daily newspaper "Prese" estimates. One year after the procurement, RTB should become a profitable company.

That ambitious Kovač’s aim, who paid 466m USD for RTB, reached the public after the meeting of the management of his "A-tech industries" with analysts.

In order to make a turn in the operations, Kovač will invest at least 180m USD in modernization and ecological measures, as well as restructuring.

Viennese daily newspaper “Prese” claims that he did not promise to keep all 4,690 workers.

The newspaper points to the fact that there is a social program for cutting the number of workers to 4,000.

It has been agreed with the local trade unions that all 700 dismissed workers should get 170 EUR per year of work in RTB.

Kovač intends to increase production of copper in RTB, which now amounts to 15,000 tons, to 20,000 in 2008, 40,000 in 2009, and 60,000 tons in 2010.

With the average price of copper in amount of 5,000 USD per ton and small manpower costs, the capital funds of RTB should be tripled prior to 2010.