Terra Balkanika D.o.o. has also received a copper exploration license for the Ceovishte property, according to www.mining-technology.com.
The license covers more than 80 square kilometers of “highly prospective” land in the Raska district, according to the site, and this increases the company’s exploration area to more than 130 square kilometers in the same district, which is near Raska, approximately 280 kilometers south of Belgrade.
“By bringing Ceovishte into our portfolio we expanded our Serbian footprint by 160% to 130 square kilometers in addition to 216 square kilometers held in Bosnia-Herzegovina at our high-grade, polymetallic Viogor-Zanik project,” Terra Balcanica Resources CEO Aleksandar Mišković said, as cited by www.mining-technology.com.
“Significantly, the most prospective area for high-grade gold located in the northwesterly quadrant of Ceovishte is concealed by a thin overburden and has not seen any historical drill testing,” he added. “This provides us with a unique exploration upside to search beneath a shallow cover resulting in quick drill target definitions.”
Serbia has long drawn mining and mineral exploitation interest, although not always without controversy, as mining giant Rio Tinto landed in hot water in January 2022 when the Serbian government stated it would withdraw exploration licenses for its lithium mining Jadar project, which has been backed by the US government and US-based Betchel. Yet local environmentalists, led by the Association of Environmental Organzations in Serbia, have since called foul, stating in August that in fact the project has been quietly moving forward, following a leaked email screenshot noting that partner Betchel was at the time searching for a waste water treatment unit.
In response, Rio Tinto stated that it’s “activities are a continuation of previous commitments” and that “it needs to collect and assess “design data from relevant vendors to meet applicable technical, environmental and sustainability standards,” as cited by Balkangreenenergynews.com.
That said, it has been no secret that the company is counting on continuing the project, following the formation of a new government under Prime Minister Ana Brnabic.
Photo of historic Serbian mining courtesy of http://www.paundurlic.com, as licensed by Wikimedia Commons.
