Adriatic Metals, an ASX-listed company, has put a new silver and lead mine in operation. The Vareš project is located in Bosnia and Herzegovina and it is the first producing asset in Adriatic’s portfolio of metals projects in Europe.
The Vareš processing plant is sourcing its raw materials from the Rupice mine that was commissioned in July last year. Adriatic will now focus on plant optimisation and ramp-up to the nameplate capacity of 800 000 t/y set to be reached by the end of 2024. The cost to build the Vareš project amounted to €200 million ($219 million).
"We see the recent legislation passed by the EU around sourcing their critical raw materials internally recognises the need for Europe to be independent in resourcing its own future," said Adriatic’s Chief Operating Officer Matthew Hine to Euronews.
"Bosnia and Herzegovina has a huge role to play within that. The concentrate we are producing, which is shipped throughout Europe, contains all metals which are really important in a green and clean (energy) transition."
Once the operation is up and running, the mine is set to contribute more than 2% to the Bosnian GDP. Commenting on the Vareš milestone, Bosnia and Herzegovina Prime Minister Nermin Nikšić said: "We are showing that successful investment is possible in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and beyond."
The metal concentrates from Vareš will be transported to an export harbour in Croatia, and final destinations are metal smelters in Germany, Scandinavia and other European countries.
Theodor Lisovoy, Editor in Chief of the European bureau, Rough&Polished
