British mining company Mineco is preparing to open its fourth lead-zinc mine in Serbia.
Image: Mineco
The Croydon-based metals company announced their intention to open another mine back in January, with the plan to begin construction of a lead, zinc and copper mine for "sometime in Q3 2020."
The mine is located in Raska, in southwestern Serbia.
Mineco announced on Tuesday that it had acquired Serbian mining sector player Vavrina Resources, thus giving them the push they need to begin operations.
Vavrina owns the land the mine is located on, which it acquired during the liquidation of the former Suva Ruda mine.
The plots of land were sold to the Serbian company by Dutch-based lender ATB Bank, which they reportedly held as a part of a €25 million loan that was never repaid.
No financial details of the transaction were made public.
Mineco director Milan Popovic said: "The next steps concern obtaining the right to prospect on our land, and the sooner we resolve this, the sooner we will be able to contribute to the economic growth of Raska, by resuming the production of non-ferrous metal ore concentrate produced by the Suva Ruda mine."
The company manage three other lead and zinc mines in the country: one near Bosilgrad in southern Serbia, one in Rudnik and another in Veliki Majdan.
Mineco is also active in Bosnia and Herzegovina with a lead and zinc mine in old antimony mine near Novo Gorazde and started production of a cerussite mine in 2017.
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