SKOPJE (Macedonia), January 22 (SeeNews) – Solway Investment Group said on Thursday its capital expenditures in assets in Macedonia, where it owns lead and zinc mine Sasa and copper, gold and zinc mine Bucim, are estimated at 12.8 million euro ($14.8 million) in 2015.
Of the total amount, 10.9 million euro is planned for Sasa mine and 1.9 million euro for Bucim mine, Solway Investment Group said in a statement emailed to SeeNews.
Both mines are located in eastern Macedonia.
In 2014, Solway Investment Group completed an 18 million euro investment cycle to prepare the Sasa mine facilities and equipment for the development of a new site, it said.
Sasa is now awaiting the issue of the new concession by the Macedonian government, which is expected to create employment for around 50 local people. Details were not disclosed.
Since 2005 when it acquired the two mines, Solway Investment Group has invested over 60 million euro into Sasa and 32.6 million euro into Bucim. The investment has enabled the modernization and development of the enterprises, including the installment of automated processing operations, flotation circle upgrades, the construction of a new tailings dump and reagents workshop, ire-cultivation of an old tailing dump and introduction of a close water consumption cycle.
Sasa’s annual production capacity stands at 780,000 metric tonnes of ore, 60,000 metric tonnes of zinc and lead in concentrate, and about 400,000 ounces of silver in concentrate.
Bucim’s current production capacity is approximately 40,000 tonnes of copper concentrate containing gold and silver and 2,000 tonnes of copper in LME-grade cathodes.
Solway Investment Group is a Cyprus-based international industrial group with 100% EU capital and conducts operations in Macedonia, Ukraine, Indonesia and Guatemala.
($=0.8653 euro)