Increase of Flotation of Copper Mine in Majdanpek without Environmental Impact Assessment? 4 November 2020

Ministry of Environmental Protection...issued the decision that Serbia Zijin Copper is not obliged to develop environmental impact assessment (EIA) study for increase of flotation of the copper mine in Majdanpek.

RERI and Association of Young Researchers Bor submitted the appeals to the Government of the Republic of Serbia against the decision that for the increase of flotation capacities from 6.000.000 t to 11.000.000 t per year of the copper mine in Majdanpek it is not necessary that Serbia Zijin Copper develop EIA study.

Company Serbia Zijin Cooper is planning to drastically increase the flotation capacities within copper mine in Majdanpek, for which they submitted request for deciding on the need for EIA...However, the investor excluded the flotation tailings disposal project...If a separate study on EIA for tailings disposal were made, it would not be possible to accurately assess the overall impact of flotation tailings caused by flotation on the environment.

„Tailings disposal is part of the technological process and cannot be separated from the project, especially because it has an impact during tailings formation, flotation plant operation and long-term after cessation of exploitation. I am afraid that using this approach, after the completion of flotation, Serbia will get another forgotten mining landfill, of which there are already more than two hundred“ emphasized Toplica Marjanović, an environmental engineer and former employee of RTB Bor...

In addition, the Ministry made a serious procedural omission which makes this decision unlawful, as the entire request with accompanying documentation was not published on the Ministry’s website (such as the conceptual design, excerpt from the urban plan, conditions of the Institute for Nature Preservation, etc.), and thus the public could not be informed about the project and submit adequate comments. As follows, the public was denied the opportunity to actively participate in the EIA procedure...