The hill of Koma is green

There is now grass like on a football field, says the manager of the Majdanpek mine, Mr. Jian Heyuan. – The greening of Starica continues, the treatment of inaccessible parts and sloping surfaces of the mountain using the hydroseeding method is in progress, adds Mrs. Sandra Barbulović from the company’s Environmental Protection Division

RBM. – Since the arrival of Zijin, 442.3 million dollars have been invested in the Majdanpek Copper Mine alone, while investment in environmental protection and ecology in this city amounts to 18.6 million dollars. Mrs. Elvira Jovanović, deputy mayor of the Majdanpek municipality, says that before the arrival of the company of Serbia Zijin Copper, an apartment in Majdanpek could be bought for only eight thousand euros, and today the same apartment is worth four times more.

– Majdanpek’s budget has increased from 1.114 billion dinars to 1.860 billion dinars this year thanks to mining royalty fee and income tax. The average salary of a resident of Majdanpek today is worth 108,000 dinars. At the mine, that average is even higher, and the Chinese company has hired more than 500 new workers so far. Earlier, people used to leave this city, while today they return to it for the same reason they left it before. They come back because of work and a good salary- says Mrs. Jovanović and adds that she hopes that the ongoing population census will confirm this.

The picture speaks best of what the town at the foot of Starica and its surroundings, the “North open pit” and “South open pit” mines, the “Koma” hill, and the “Kaluđerica” tailings dump really look like today. – The Starica will not be demolished, there is no reason for that. There is no ore in that part of the “North mine” and there was never even an idea to exploit that area. The current border of the mining area is also the final border – as said by the Serbian engineers and management of the Majdanpek Copper Mine.

The Manager of the Majdanpek Branch of Serbia Zijin Copper Jian Heyuan points out that the landslide zone on that mountain is still being treated, but that land reclamation has already begun on the parts of the mountain that have been reclaimed. – The top of Starica is already green, there is now grass like on a football field – says Mr. Heyuan.

This is also confirmed by Mrs. Sandra Barbulović from the mine’s Environmental Protection Division. – The greening of Starica continues, our teams there are now treating inaccessible parts and sloped surfaces using the hydroseeding method. The company follows the path of green development and in accordance with that, more than 55 hectares of land have already been greened – Mrs. Barbulović says.

In addition to the money invested in the reclamation of degraded mining areas in the vicinity of Majdanpek, the management of the local mine also invested in facilities that serve to protect the environment. From the edge of the “North open pit” mine, at the foot of Starica, you can see the new mining water treatment system. – Mining wastewater is no longer discharged into the Pek River. We installed a treatment and pumping system, so now it goes to the flotation pond and tailings dump, and from there it returns to the flotation plant and is used again for the production process. Not a liter of such water goes into the Pek River anymore – says Mr. Dragiša Anđelković, Manager of the Safety and Environmental Protection Department. Water is an important resource and for this reason, there are kilometers of pipes that return water from the “North open pit” to the process, Professor Radoje Pantović confirmed from the Technical Faculty in Bor.

The mine Manager, Mr. Jian Heyuan, reminds us that everything is done in Majdanpek with one goal only and in the direction of forming a green, high-tech, and first-class mine. – When I say green, I mean environmental protection, and that is the basic thing. We want the mountains to be greener and the water to be clearer. That is why we invested about eight million dollars in the water treatment system alone, and today the water does not flow into any recipient – says Mr. Heyuan.

Investment in the environmental protection of Majdanpek does not only refer to land reclamation but also includes all projects in the service of water and air protection. – A lot of money has been invested in water resources, as well as in air protection, so I must mention that the company has installed 147 sets of dust collectors in the ore flotation and crushing plants. Also, water tank trucks were procured to water mine roads in order to bring down the dust. Today, no vehicle can leave the plant area without first being washed – says Mrs. Sandra Barbulović.

In Majdanpek, an additional 346,000 square meters of land at the “Valja Fundata” tailings dump were greened and 18,500 seedlings were planted. Measurements in the nearby village of Debeli Lug, which was hit by dust from the tailings dump, show that it has almost been neutralized.