Hopes for an environmentally friendly polymetallic mine? Report from Bosnia-Herzegovina.
In a few weeks, the Vareš polymetallic mine in Bosnia and Herzegovina is expected to launch full-scale operations. Silver, gold, lead, zinc, copper, antimony and other metals can then be extracted from the host rocks. These strategic metals are important for the European Union, which seeks to reduce its dependence on Chinese or Russian raw materials.
A problem is looming: environmental defenders have filed a complaint with the office of the Berne Convention of the Council of Europe. Activists are concerned about biodiversity and water quality.
Euronews sent its journalist Hans von der Brelie to the Bosnian mountains to investigate the situation…
I want to visit this silver mine in Vareš, and for this an emergency breathing device is needed, as well as special safety training. Jimmy, originally from New Zealand, takes me on an underground tour. He has 26 years of experience in this field, having worked in Australia, Mongolia, Burkina Faso, and now Bosnia and Herzegovina for Adriatic Metals, a British mining company. “The minerals here are good for the country, and benefits will be redistributed to the local community,” says Jimmy.
800,000 tonnes of minerals will be extracted from the ground each year. It is the largest current mining project in Bosnia and Herzegovina, accounting for 25% of the country’s foreign direct investment. In short, the huge project.
I have a meeting with Marko. Its team of geologists is the company’s “treasure hunt.” At just 29 years old, Marko has already analyzed hundreds of drill cores, most of them brimming with metals. A year ago, he estimated an ore deposit of around 12 million tonnes. The most recent update indicates that the underground treasure now weighs 22.5 million tons, almost double!
Marko Matić shows me around the laboratory: “This is the host rock for the mineralization of the Rupice deposit in Vareš. It contains sulphides including silver, gold, copper, zinc, lead and “antimony… with very high levels of each element.”
The mine is an investment of 200 million euros. Once operational, the mine will contribute more than 2% of Bosnian GDP. The start of operations is planned for early 2024.
“We see recent EU legislation regarding the sourcing of critical raw materials, recognizing the need for Europe to be independent in sourcing its own future,” says Adriatic Metals COO, Matthew Hine. “Bosnia and Herzegovina has a major role to play in all of this. The concentrate we produce, which is shipped throughout Europe, contains all the metals that are really important in a transition to green, clean energy.”
A few kilometers away, a huge railway bridge crosses a mountain forest valley. Workers improve the railway tracks. Strategic metals from Vareš are necessary for Europe’s energy transition: for solar cells, electric vehicles, charging stations, wind turbines… Metal concentrates will be transported from Vareš to an export port in Croatia . Then they will be shipped to European metal foundries in Germany, Scandinavia and other countries mainly in Western Europe.
Geopolitically, the Bosnian mine fits perfectly into the EU’s efforts to secure strategic raw materials. Bosnia and Herzegovina wants to become a member of the European Union, and both sides are seeking to accelerate cooperation and strengthen economic ties and transport connections.
But a little further away, in the neighboring town of Kakanj, the protest is mounting. Hajrija Čobo is an English teacher and studied environmental law. She accuses the mining company of playing dirty tricks with environmental studies and commissioning a UK-based institute, allegedly unauthorized, to work in Bosnia-Herzegovina. “This second study is practically illegal here,” she explains. “No national authority has validated it.”
Hajrija Čobo filed a complaint with the Council of Europe, at the Berne convention office. The office ensures the protection of biodiversity. There are excavations outside the concession area, says Čobo. Secondary mining roads are built. Mountain streams are channeled in concrete. Trees are being cut down. Čobo points to a large yellow construction machine noisily rolling down the slope: “These are works in the river bed, which is water protection zone number 2, where such construction works are strictly prohibited. And yet, they still make them. Everything they do comes to my house. Am I supposed to drink this water?”
The official limit values for drinking water are compliant. However, Čobo has purchased basic testing equipment herself and is checking the pollution levels of a stream coming from the direction of the silver mine: “I measure the particles in the water, and what we have here they are values around 210 to 230. There were about 25 in this stream before mining.”
The central problem is the alleged presence of heavy metals. This is not Čobo’s first attempt at taking samples. She kept the old test strips. Today there is a surprise: “It’s a good result,” smiles Čobo. “I am very satisfied with the result. Only the chrome shows a little color. But in the past, there was chromium, bromine, chlorine appearing.” Contrary to all official water tests, its conclusion falls: “It’s not clean, it’s not fit for consumption, not anymore.”
Now the Council of Europe is reacting. The legally binding Bern Convention office is calling on the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina to temporarily stop mining activities until the complaints are resolved. The government is asked to submit an official report to the Berne Convention to clarify whether the mine endangers biodiversity.
Adriatic Metals’ sustainability director Vildana Mahmutović rejects all allegations: “There is a very long distance between our underground mining activities and the water source. All studies indicate that there is a water barrier. “water in between, so our groundwater will NOT affect that water supply on the other side of the hill.”
Another mining company, Rio Tinto, has encountered obstacles with its proposed lithium mine in neighboring Serbia. Massive protests prompted authorities to change their minds and halt the major mining project. This is why Adriatic Metals, with its silver mine project in Bosnia, is taking a different approach: it is investing heavily in communication, transparency, close cooperation with local stakeholders and in costly environmental protection measures. environment up to date.
ADVERTISEMENTVildana Mahmutović shows me the water treatment plant under construction: “This is the first treatment site in the history of the country that will have a closed circuit for water, which we are very proud of We understand, even if we are not in the European Union, that we want a European mine respecting all European legislation or international conventions: it is possible to have a ‘green mine’.”
The town of Vareš has a long mining history dating back centuries. Already the Romans were looking for – and finding – ore in the mountains surrounding Vareš. When the region was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, industrialization was intensified. But the magnificent brick buildings are in ruins… Parts of Vareš are reduced to a landscape of ruins.
Although Vareš is actually a nice little town. Formerly, 22,000 people lived there. Today, the population is down to 8,000. The disintegration of Yugoslavia, the civil war, the fighting, the massacres, the displacements, the flight and the economic decline have left their mark: abandoned buildings, ruined roofs, roads lined with empty houses…
Today, Vareš is once again experiencing a period of growth, thanks to the new mineral mine which has doubled the municipality’s budget. Finally, money is available for urgent infrastructure: bridges, waste management, thermal insulation and building restoration.
A little optimism has returned to the mayor’s office, thanks to the arrival of new residents and the number of families with children. The mayor of Vareš, Zdravko Marošević, gives me an example: “Last year, we had a kindergarten with 18 students, and it was struggling economically. A few months ago, it already had four classes and 60 children, but the number registrations could even reach 100 children next year. –
ADVERTISEMENTFor three years, there has once again been a class at Vareš secondary school training for careers in the mining industry. Because the mining company hires locally. The school administration and parents see this as a real opportunity for their children.
In the evening, I meet Marko, the geologist. During the war, his family left the region and settled in Zagreb. Marko studied in Croatia. Having found work in his native county in Bosnia almost seems like a small miracle for him: “It’s crazy, incredible, I never imagined working here,” he says, smiling broadly. “But it happened, I can’t believe it.”
The place’s owner, pizza chef Dario Dodik, is also a returnee. As soon as he heard about the new mine, he left his secure job in the capital Sarajevo and built this pizza oven with his own hands and using 480 bricks. His restaurant and hotel are thriving: “Among my employees, in my restaurant, there are 5 returnees from the EU. These are (local) people who worked in the Czech Republic, in Germany, and now they work here at home .I think better days are coming.”
