June 7th 2021 – Mojkovac, (MINA-BUSINESS) – The Brskovo mine will be one of the largest zinc mines in Europe, and will bring significant employment and economic benefits to Montenegro and its people, General Manager Richard Boffey stated.
He added that this mine will restore the long history of Brskovo as a famous mining region.
‘’Tara Resources acquired the project in 2018 because we saw the strong potential of this project, and have since invested more than EUR15m in drilling, technical and environmental studies with local and international experts to confirm the benefits of the project.’’ Boffey commented in the interview for MINA Business.
He explained that the construction of the mine involves a capital investment of approximately €150m.
‘’Through its operation, the mine would contribute significantly to Montenegro’s GDP, generating export sales of approx €100m per annum, becoming one of Montenegro’s largest exporters’’, Boffey added.
He explained further that the mine will also pay concession fees and corporate taxes of approx. €10M per annum. Approx. €3M per annum of the Concession fee would be allocated to Mojkovac Municipality.
‘’Talking about employment, the mine currently employs 15 people but we expect to grow and to be one of the biggest employers in the country, employing approx. 700 people in construction, and 450 direct jobs and 200 indirect jobs during operations. Besides employment, we are working on special training programs that will support human resources development in North Region of Montenegro.’’, Boffey explained.
According to him, the mine will improve the environment in Mojkovac, by addressing environmental impacts from the former mine operations.
Boffey said that this mine will be completely different from the old one.
‘’The project will consist of two open pit mines, a processing plant that produces zinc, lead and copper concentrates that also contain silver, and a waste management facility. All this will all be located in the area of the former mining operations in the hills above Mojkovac, far away from the urban area.’’, Boffey commented.
He explained that there are old waste rock dumps, open pits and underground tunnels from the former operations spread over this former mining area.
‘’Water is flowing through these exposed areas, leading to contaminated water being discharged into rivers that flow to the Tara River. By building the new mine in this location, we will be able to rehabilitate the old mining areas, and capture and treat any contaminated water.’’, he explained further.
Utilizing leading environmental practices and technologies, they aim to solve the existing problems in area, capture and treat the contaminated water.
‘’Our company is committed to protecting the environment and using leading international practices for waste and water management. There will be no tailings dam, like in the old operations. Here where we stand today, mining waste from the open pits and processing waste from the plant will be combined and stored in dry, solid form, called an Integrated Waste Management Facility. This will be located next to the open pits.’’ Boffey said.
He pointed out that all will be done in the project area, well away from the Mojkovac town.
‘’With regards to water management, all water used in our process will be captured and recycled to the plant. Discharges from the old mining and rail tunnels will also be captured and used in the plant.’’, Boffey commented.
As he explained, any discharged water will be treated with water treatment plants. Only clean water will flow from the project area.
Being asked to comment if the company acquired all the permits needed and when can we expact mine to start operations, Boffey said that the process to obtain a decision on opening a mine involves multiple steps and is described in the mining law of Montenegro.
‘’We are working closely with the Government bodies to ensure that all requirements are met for all permits and consents. Once all permits are received, the construction will take approximately 24 months before the mine can start to operate.’’, Boffey explained.
He said that the company believes that together with the local community, we can bring significant employment and economic benefits to Montenegro and its people, and restore the long history of Brskovo as a famous mining region.