Today, mining is an important factor in economic activity and growth in Serbia, and at the beginning of this year, this branch of industry contributed 2.6% to GDP in the first quarter and 2.3% in the second quarter, said the Minister of Mining and Energy, Dubravka Đedović. during the address at the conference “Mineral resources of Serbia, sustainable growth through responsible mining”, according to the Government’s website.
Also, as she added, mining records a higher growth rate than industrial production, because from January to July this year, compared to the same period in 2021, industrial production increased by 2.7%, while mining grew by more than 30%, which is the result of increased investments, especially in exploitation and processing in the copper mine.
According to her, 27,000 people were employed in the mining sector in 2021, of which 8,500 were employed in metal mines, with a tendency to increase that number.
As stated, “currently, geological research is carried out in Serbia on 178 exploration fields, of which 120 are fields of metallic raw materials, among others, copper, gold, lead, zinc, silver, two exploration fields of energy raw materials, and 56 fields where they are researching non-metallic raw materials”, Đedović specified.
Serbia is rich in mineral resources, primarily copper, gold, silver, lead, zinc, borates and lithium, she stressed and added that in the era of modern technologies, mineral resources are “the basis of the development of modern society” and “a necessary prerequisite for the existence of modern civilization”.
Mining activity in the context of the country’s energy independence and further economic growth is not a matter of choice, but an inevitability. The state’s task is to, together with mining, use the wealth we have in a rational, responsible and sustainable way, respecting nature and taking care of the communities it has an impact on, the minister said, according to the official website of the Government, eKapija writes.
