November 22 (SeeNews) - Serbian state-run copper mining and smelting company RTB Bor needs financing of $40 million (34 million euro) to start operating the Cerovo 2 copper deposit, Nebojsa Videnovic, director mining activities at Bor, has said.
RTB Bor has already prepared the documentation needed for the launch of activities at Cerovo 2, but still does not have the finances it needs to buy machines and pay compensation for the land where the deposit lies, Videnovic said in the corporate newsletter of RTB Bor, Kolektiv, on Tuesday.
Copper ore deposits at Cerovo 2 stand at an estimated 30 million tonnes, while the total deposits of the Cerovo open pit mine amount to 320 million tonnes, Videnovic said.
RTB Bor has invested 18 million euro in the operation of Cerovo 1 and generated revenue of as much as $81 million, but the reserves of the deposit are already exhausted, he noted.
The Cerovo open pit mine includes four deposits - Cerovo 1, Cerovo 2, Cerovo Drenova and Cerovo Primarno. According to preliminary estimates of RTB Bor, the total quantity of the produced copper ore from the Cerovo 2 deposit should stand at 16 million tonnes, Kolektiv said.
($ = 0.849532 euro)