Bosnia and Herzegovina: Serb Republic to award iron ore mining concesssion

The government of Bosnia’s Serb Republic said it plans to award a concession contract for iron ore mining near the own of Ljubija to ArcelorMittal Prijedor.

Under the planned agreement, ArcelorMittal Prijedor will mine 3 million tonnes of iron ore from a deposit located near Ljubija, the Serb Republic government said in a statement on Thursday.

The project will employ about 100 people.

In the coming period, the government will define the obligations of the concessionaire in the agreement before signing it with ArcelorMittal Prijedor.

ArcelorMittal Prijedor and the government of the Serb Republic entity signed a memorandum of cooperation in the project on December 31, 2021.

ArcelorMittal Prijedor was established in 2004 as a joint venture between multinational steel and mining company ArcelorMittal with a 51% stake and local mining company RZR Ljubija with a 49% stake. ArcelorMittal also owns a steel plant in Zenica, located in Bosnia’s other entity, the Federation.

The Serb Republic and the Federation are two autonomous entities that form Bosnia and Herzegovina.