Coal exploration majority used for thermal power plants power generation in Serbia

About 65 percent of annual coal production in Serbia Power Utility Company (EPS) is based on lignite combustion, of which 75 percent comes from “Kolubara”, and the rest from Kostolac coal basin. According to the State Secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Mines, Tomislav Subaranovic, 90 percent from the total annual coal production in Serbia is used to produce electricity, and the expansion of coal mining is inextricably linked with the strategic planning and development of Kostolac and Kolubara basin.

He said that the analysis showed that currently there was a crisis in the production on all open pit mines of “Kolubara”, except on mine “Tamnava West Field”, while in Kostolac was a little better situation.

Subaranovic said that it was the result of poor strategic planning of the previous management, adding that the current leadership of “Kolubara” successfully coped with inherited problems in development of exploitation coal in the eastern basin part, primarily due to the difficult expropriation and relocation of industrial facilities.

According to him, investments in the mining sector have been on the fringe for years, due to the small investment potential of the state as majority owner and also of private investors, with the exception of few cement plants and some non-metal mines.

The greatest investment in the next period should be in the opening of open pit mines in the eastern part of the Kolubara basin and the opening of new mines “Radljevo” and “Field G” in the western part.

Subaranovic said that there were more investors interested in opening of “Radljevo”, mine “Stavalj” with the construction of new thermal power plant with power of about 350 MW, and the opening of the mine “Novi Kovin” with the TPP building of about 600 to 700 megawatts.

He added that they have shown interest in the extraction and processing of oil shale, adding that it is expected to open a jadarite mine in Loznica, gold and copper mines in the vicinity of Bor and borate mine in Pobrđe, near Raska in the next two to three years.