Zijin planning to relocate Mali Pek River and expand mine to 100 meters from houses in Majdanpek – State requiring strict conditions for exploitation of another 9.9 million tons of copper ore per year

The Chinese company Serbia Zijin Copper is preparing the ground for a massive expansion of mining activities at the “Juzni revir” open-pit mine in Majdanpek, with the aim of extracting 9.9 million tons of copper ore per year.

Given that this massive operation is planned on the very edge of the city, the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the Republic of Serbia has issued a decision defining the requirements for the preparation of an Environmental Impact Assessment Study, in response to the company’s request submitted in March.

The planned exploitation life of this mine is estimated at around 13 and a half years, during which a total of 126 million tons of ore and as much as 407 million tons of overburden are planned to be excavated.

The project is being implemented based on the “Supplementary Mining Project for the Excavation of Ore Bodies at the Juzni revir Open Pit for a Capacity of 9.9 Million Tons of Ore per Year”, developed by the Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Bor.

Mines too close and river relocation

The mine expansion will take place in five phases. The first three phases include the initial excavation and lowering of machines to lower horizons to stabilize the terrain. The fourth phase involves significant spatial changes as it requires the relocation of the Mali Pek River. The fifth, final phase, envisages the extraction of the remaining ore to the outer limits of the mine, followed by complete greening and afforestation of the terrain.

The geographical position of the mine brings challenges that directly affect the daily lives of the locals, as one of the key aspects of the project relates to the proximity of mining activities to the urban core of Majdanpek.

In the official Decision of the Ministry, which determines the exact scope and content of the Environmental Impact Assessment Study for this project in the Majdanpek copper mine, Zijin, in the part describing the microlocation of the project, states that the surface land rests on the very southern edge of Majdanpek, and the nearest residential buildings are located only 100 meters from the edge of the mine.

Within the immediate radius of 350 to 900 meters, as stated in the Decision, there are also a municipal building, an elementary school, a city stadium, a park, a cultural center and a general hospital.

The expansion is planned in the northwestern part of the “Juzni revir” mine, and the relocation of the Mali Pek River will be carried out simultaneously with the relocation of part of the state road and the power transmission line.

In previous years, the Mali Pek River has already been technically regulated within the framework of mining activities, but current plans foresee additional and more extensive changes to its course in the mine expansion zone.

What do the protection measures include?

As a reminder, copper exploitation has been ongoing at the “Juzni revir” open-pit mine for decades, but new work on a major expansion is awaiting the preparation and defense of an Environmental Impact Assessment Study, and Zijin has a year to prepare this complex study and submit a request for final approval. The public has also been promised a special summary written in simple, non-technical language.

Aware of the risks posed by exploitation of this scale in the immediate vicinity of settlements and protected natural resources (such as the “Mustafa” Strict Nature Reserve, Rajkova Pecina, and the Djerdap Ecological Network), the Ministry has obliged Zijin to take rigorous protection measures:

Prohibition of water pollution: All water that enters the working area of the mine and landfill must be collected, channeled into sedimentation tanks and accumulations, and after purification, redirected exclusively for flotation purposes. The discharge of mine water into river flows is strictly prohibited.

Air, noise and blasting: The company must continuously monitor dust at five key locations in the city and constantly water the mining roads. Blasting must be strictly controlled, using modern, low-vibration explosives and only during periods when public exposure is minimal.

Remediation and greening: Zijin is obliged to remediate registered landslides on the northern and eastern slopes of the mine before resuming work, and upon completion of the phases, carry out technical and biological recultivation (leveling the terrain, applying humus and reforestation).

Years of tension, environmental penalties and the fight for Starica

The development of mining activities in this area in recent years has been accompanied by a series of environmental controversies and reactions from local communities and civil society organizations.

Among the organizations that have dealt with the impact of mining activities on the environment is the Renewable Energy and Environment Regulatory Institute (RERI), which has repeatedly pointed out the potential consequences of mining activities on water quality in the Mali Pek and Veliki Pek river basins.

According to previously published findings and reports, elevated concentrations of certain metals were recorded in some water samples, which led to additional inspections and temporary control measures in the operation of the plant.

The public is also aware of the case of protests in the area of Mount Starica near Majdanpek, where local activists and company representatives had different views regarding mining interventions and safety measures in the field.

B. P.

Serbia Zijin Copper doo Bor

Ministarstvo zaštite životne sredine Republike Srbije

Serbi Zijin Copper

Ministry of Environmental Protection

Mount Starica

copper mine Majdanpek

Južni revir mine

Mali Pek River

river moving

copper ore mining

Environmental Impact Assessment Study

expansion of Južni revir mine