A total of USD 177 mil to start the first gold mine in Serbia

It will take a total of USD 177 mil to start the first gold mine in Serbia, near the Zagubica municipality, preliminary economic estimations generated by an independent company, AMEC from Pert in Australia, for the purposes of the Timok gold project of gold.

- It is expected that during the operational time of the mine, through mine renting the budget of Serbia will generate USD 38 mil as well as that 250 people will be hired – it is said in the announcement of Avala resources.

The Study estimates that the initial open pit mine will have an average operational life of 8,4 years, with an annual production of 2,5 tons of gold in concentrate, with the usage of standard flotation technology.

The project also requires about two years of investing in infrastructure, after obtaining all necessary permits and legal regulations with respect to environmental protection.

- Our objective with respect to the estimation is to show that the project is potentially economical and to point out that the parts of the project which require additional work – General Manager at Avala resources, Sean Hason said.

Hason outlined that the project is the most sensitive when it comes to gold exploitation as well as its market prices, adding that they cannot influence the price but they can work on improvement on gold consumption.

The company Research Manager, Justin van der Toorn, points out that as of 2010, the company has invested more than USD 160 mil in the research work for the Timok gold project.

- At the moment Serbia has the best climate in the region for investing in development of new minig projects and we encourage efforts Serbian government to conduct the policy of openness when it comes to new investments - van der Torn said.