The Serbian Minister of Mines and Energy said on Wednesday that Serbia has ordered China’s Zijin Mining Group to stop working on the shaft at Serbia’s only copper mine and complete the construction of a wastewater treatment plant because the plant does not meet environmental standards.

Zijin Mining became a strategic partner of Serbia's RTB Bor copper mine project (including the Jama mine), promising to invest US$1.26 billion in exchange for a 63% stake. Minister Zorana Mihajlovic said that in late March, the authorities ordered Zijin's Serbian subsidiary to stop work on the shaft of its Jama copper mine.

Residents complain about noise

Mikhailovich said in a statement: "The state has...responded to the complaints of citizens living near the Jama mine." Zijin Mining said in a statement issued by the Serbian department in which residents complained about the noise. After the level, according to the order of the authorities, it has stopped building ventilation shafts for the Jama mine in Bor town.

The statement said: "The copper mining at the Jama Copper Mine is underway, and the mining site is deep underground." Mikhailovich said that Zijin troops have also been ordered to urgently complete the wastewater treatment plant and stop polluting the tributary of the Danube. Ke river. She said: "They must eliminate all violations by April 30."

China has invested billions of euros in Serbia, mainly in the form of soft loans to provide financing for highways and energy projects. Zijin Mining's subsidiary in Serbia said last week that it plans to invest US$408 million in 2021 to overhaul, expand and improve the environmental standards of its mines and Bor smelter.

In its 2019 report, the Global Alliance of Health and Pollution Supervisors stated that Serbia is the most polluted country in Europe. Last Saturday, thousands of people gathered in the capital Belgrade to protest the government’s lack of action to prevent pollution caused mainly by industry and mining.Editor/Huang Lijun