This article was reprinted with permission after being published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Since a Chinese company acquired the massive copper mining and smelting complex in 2018, Suzana Jovanovic, a citizen who lives close to the edge of an old edge me, has n’t experienced any positive change.
In exchange for a 63 percent interest, the state-owned Zijin Mining Group, which pledged to commit$ 1.26 billion and improve climate protection, became a important partner in the mining opportunity.
Since being run by a state-run business in Yugoslavia, the mining activity has struggled with concerns about its environmental effects and the health of local residents, and Zijin’s promises gave hope that things may shift.
Jovanovic claims that Zijin has opened new sites in the area as a result of an additional$ 3.8 billion investment that was announced in September 2023, and that the situation has n’t improved.
” There’s so much sand everywhere”, Jovanovic , told RFE/RL’s Balkan Service. We ca n’t even open a window and go outside.
Jovanovic says that Sever, the town in Bor where she’s lived since 1987, is one of the city’s most affected by the mining activity. A growing number of residents claim that pollution in the air and near mining communities causes noise every day because clouds of dust cover local communities and pollute the air, which she claims is having an impact on their health and quality of life.
” I’ve had three procedures so way,” he said. I live on medication”, says 86-year-old Roksanda Tasic, Jovanovic’s cousin who believes that centuries of pollutants have endangered her health.
The Bor mine operation’s controversy comes just six years after Zijin revived the business with its ownership stake, with the complaints about pollutants.
Serb officials have since issued numerous fines to Zijin for waste transgressions.
After the copper me failed to meet environmental requirements and was required to construct a wastewater treatment plant, Zijin was given the order to temporarily stop work there in April 2021. The mining giant has also been the subject of protests over claims it has engaged in untrue deals to profit from Serbia’s relatively weaker environmental laws and its weak environmental record.
Economic organizations have also accused Serbian government of blinding themselves to pollution and health issues as a result of the copper mine, which is expanding rapidly and increasing its output as demand for the metal’s contribution to the transition from fossil fuels rises.
Souls, Minds, And Dirty Air
Zijin has defended its performance in the face of condemnation from Bor residents and other nearby mine complex neighborhoods.
The firm said it has consistently cut any harmful pollutants from the plant and taken certain steps to better protect the environment in response to questions from RFE/RL about pollutants concerns.
A Zijin spokesman even cited official statistics from the Serbian authorities regarding weather value from six Bor-based monitoring channels, which compare the lead concentrations of 2016 to 2017 and 2023 and 2024.
The studies show that, compared to the dimensions from 2016-17 before Zijin took over, the information from 2023-24 indicates significant progress.
Heavy metals in the air were considerably reduced after the furnace was equipped with the most recent economic security systems and a significant recovery efforts, according to the spokesperson, RFE/RL.
The spokesperson continued, noting that “it’s unfair to expect Zijin metal to address all the environmental issues that have developed over more than a century in only five times” and that” constant fires at town landfills and fuel from vehicles” are contributing factors to the polluted air.
Zijin has made significant strides to enhance its standing in native populations and the internet.
The Serb government has praised the Chinese agency’s efforts to revitalize and create jobs in advertising responses. By funding regional sports organizations and competitions, Zijin has also taken steps to restore its negative image with disenchanted areas.
In response to current attempts by local campaigners and residents to block access roads and/or mine sites, the company’s PR technique has also grown more forceful and forward-leaning.
Zijin claims to have spent more than$ 100 million on upgrading the equipment to reduce sulfur dioxide buildup.
Serbia’s Environmental Protection Agency ( SEPA ) did not respond to RFE/RL’s inquiries regarding air quality in Bor, but it stated in a press release on June 22 that air quality had improved in 2024 compared to last year.
SEPA stated in the same statement that Serbia’s government has spent more than 500 million euros ($ 542 million ) over the past six years to improve the country’s air quality, and that it has also announced new plans to launch 40 projects in Serbia.
Nearby Fears Associated With Cancer
Despite the statistics cited by Zijin and Serbian authorities companies, some people in Bor remain sceptical.
Toplica Marjanovic, who is currently leading the Society of Young Researchers ‘ local chapter, warns that toxins are still being released at the mining operation despite regularly monitoring official data on the level of air pollution in Bor for years.
Marjanovic claims that as a result of a new smelter plant and factory that uses sulfuric acid during the refining process, new harmful chemicals are being released into the environment as a result of this change.
He adds that since April 2023, around the time the new factory’s operation started, there has been a significant increase in the concentration of arsenic and other heavy metals, particularly cadmium, in Bor.
Marjanovic says he bases these claims on , official reports , on local air-quality monitoring, which are  , published , every month on the city of Bor’s website.
According to Marjanovic,” we had two days in 2023 when one of the city’s measuring points had a lead concentration that exceeded that level.” ” Arsenic at the same location increased as much as six times as it did at one measuring point, while the average annual concentration of cadmium was almost twice the permissible values.”
Arsenic, cadmium, and other heavy metals are known to cause cancer and pose other serious health risks, according to the World Health Organization.
Marjanovic also asserts that Zijin uses selective data to provide a more accurate picture of the air quality situation than is actually the case, noting that the mining complex’s reconstructed smelter was the site’s owner did not disclose data from 2018 to 2021.
He adds that Zijin’s public comments did not mention the cadmium content. Official figures indicate that one of the city’s six measuring stations ‘ increased concentration of that heavy metal, which has even exceeded the permitted limit.
The level of arsenic has increased since 2018 as a result of the smelter’s increased capacity and the import of more concentrate, according to Marjanovic. ” And there is a particularly significant increase in the concentration of cadmium at all measuring points.”
