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OPERATION FOCUS
Serbia’s pioneer in privatized mining is a small mine producing zinc, lead, copper
and silver. John Chadwick walked into Rudnik Mountain to see the operation
T
he Serbian word rudnik means ‘mine’ Serbian businessman, Darko Vukobratovic, interest in buying Serbian mines – he expects
so, Rudnik rudnik – is it so good they through his company Contango, owns the the other four former Trepca Mines’ operations
named it twice? Whatever, this is an mine. He was Glencore’s representative in the in Serbia to sell for higher prices as there is
area with a mining tradition that goes back region for many years. He says he bought much more foreign interest today.
centuries – the small mountain in which the Rudnik (acquisition date September 24, 2004) Contango’s investment in Rudnik has
mine has been developed is called Rudnik, as is at an opportune time when there was little resulted in the recently stated ore reserve of 2 Mt
the village and the mine itself. It is located
south of Belgrade, about 75 km away, roughly
in the centre of the country.
Today’s mine was opened in 1952. Current
reserves are some 2 Mt, equally split into 1Mt
each of lead/zinc ore and copper ore. The
mineralization, worked since Roman times,
includes argentiferous galena and some
chalcopyrite, malachite and blende.
The operation is the first Serbian mine to
have been privatised and has used Atlas Copco
equipment for more than 40 years. From Atlas
Copco Airpower compressors for the extensive
compressed air system in the mine through
Craelius Diamec exploration drills, handheld
drills, small Boomer drill jumbos, Scooptrams
and Mine Trucks, this is a very ‘yellow’
operation. There has been no change in this Rudnik’s new Atlas Copco Boomer 281
approach with the change of ownership. in one of the ‘rooms’.
OPERATION FOCUS
www.dsiminingproducts.com
09/07
very important machines. Among the current and breccias; mostly occur in a stockwork-type Technical Director Zlatko Belic stresses the
plans are drilling and investigating old form. In this ore zone three mineralization complex geology of the mine, but hopes to be
workings, which may contain valuable phases can be distinguished: pyrometasomatic able to come to understand the wolfram
mineralization and some 500-600 m holes (skarn), pyrometasomatic-hydrothermal and mineralization, containing up to 7% WO3. It is
from surface. hydrothermal. The pyrometasomatic- found in both separate and the existing
The geological control provided by the hydrothermal phase is the most base metal orebodies. Tungsten could
Diamecs is essential as the orebodies are very significant mineralization be another important revenue
irregular. Room and pillar mining provides phase because it is stream for the mine.
80% of the ore. The maximum room height is represented by massive
40 m and the biggest room mined thus far is orebodies. Compressed air
120 m long by 50 m wide by 40 m high. As A significant amount of Rudnik’s
much development as possible is down in ore. ore (some 20%) still comes
Cores are sampled and analysed on site from narrow vein workings that
using Rudnik’s Perkin Elmer spectrometer. This are mined with compressed
versatile unit is used for both analyses of core air powered
samples and to test concentrate grades.
Another geological area of interest involves
polymetallic W-Pb-Bi ores that have
been found in the Nova Jama ore zone. They
are situated on the contact of quartzite dykes
BIAS RANGE
52/80 X 57 68 PR E4
4000 X 57 68 PR E4
3700 X 57 68 PR E4
50/65 X 51 62 PR L5
3600 X 51 58 PR E4
3300 X 51 58 PR E4
3000 X 51 52 PR E4
2700 X 49 48 PR E4
1600 R 2
E4
5
23.5 R25 **
26.5 R25 **
***
**
29.5 R25 **
RADIAL 1800 R253**
1800 R3 5**
GE
RANworldwide 2400 R3
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