RTB Bor
Encyclopedia
RTB Bor is a copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...

 mining company located in Bor
Bor
Bor may refer to:* Matej Bor, the pen name of the Slovene poet Vladimir Pavšič *Bor , a location in Afghanistan*Bor , a town in Plzeň Region , Czech Republic...

, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

.

History

After privatisation of the company, the following facilities of the company have remained with basic activities related to the extraction and treatment of copper ore:
  • RBB - Copper Mine Bor d.o.o.
  • RBM - Copper Mine Majdanpek d.o.o.
  • TIR - Smelter and Refinery d.o.o.

Downstream entities not belonging to the core mining and metallurgical production are as follows:

In RBB:

Belorečki sandstone
Lime production, Zagradje
Geological exploration

In TIR:

Oxygen plant
Fittings plant
Castings plant
Precious metals’ salts plant
Photo chemicals and car cosmetics plant

History and Ownership

Oldest traces of mining in Europe were found in the region of Bor
Bor
Bor may refer to:* Matej Bor, the pen name of the Slovene poet Vladimir Pavšič *Bor , a location in Afghanistan*Bor , a town in Plzeň Region , Czech Republic...

 and Majdanpek
Majdanpek
Majdanpek is a town and municipality in Bor District of Serbia. According to 2011 census, the municipality of Majdanpek has a population of 18,179 people, while the town of Majdanpek has a population of 7,367....

 and date back in 4500 years B.C.

First geological explorations of copper ore at Bor
Bor, Serbia
Bor is a town and municipality located in eastern Serbia, with one of the largest copper mines in Europe and it has been a mining centre since 1904, when a French company began operations there. It is the administrative center of the Bor District of Serbia...

 were conducted in the year 1897 and covered the area called Tilva Rosh. The explorations were performed by Djordje Vajfert, who later provided investments of the French capital and set up a company called "The French Society of the Bor Mines, the Concession St. George". The Company, with its headquarters in Paris, started operations on June 1, 1904.

The French capital remained at Bor
Bor
Bor may refer to:* Matej Bor, the pen name of the Slovene poet Vladimir Pavšič *Bor , a location in Afghanistan*Bor , a town in Plzeň Region , Czech Republic...

 all until the Second World war and by 1951 all copper mines at Bor
Bor
Bor may refer to:* Matej Bor, the pen name of the Slovene poet Vladimir Pavšič *Bor , a location in Afghanistan*Bor , a town in Plzeň Region , Czech Republic...

 were in the state ownership. Large amount of funds were invested in this period.

From 1951 until 1988 the Company changed its organizational structure, from the "organization of associated labour" to the "Business Unit Copper Mines Bor".

During 1993 the Company made various investments which further initiated opening up new mining operations such was an open pit mine called "Cerovo".

In order to comply with legislation then in force, the Company changed its organizational structure and continued to operate through a network of a few companies established as limited liability companies which actually make the company RTB Bor Group, in an informal way.

Privatization

The Serbian Government has decided to place a tender on the privatization of RTB Bor to allow for better development and investment for the company in the recent years. The first tender was won by Romanian Cuprom
Cuprom
Cuprom is the sole producer of electrolytic copper, continuous cast copper rod and enameled wire in Romania and the largest in Eastern Europe .Cuprom refinery in Baia Mare has an annual production capacity of 40,000 tonnes of cathodes...

 for the bidding price of $400 Million
Million
One million or one thousand thousand, is the natural number following 999,999 and preceding 1,000,001. The word is derived from the early Italian millione , from mille, "thousand", plus the augmentative suffix -one.In scientific notation, it is written as or just 106...

 dollars for the company but failed to secure payment guarantees and subsequently lost its bid. A second tender was called soon after, the highest bidders being Austrian A-TEC for $466 Million plus 180.4 Million in investment and Russian SMR at $370 million plus $413 million in investment. A-TEC was awarded the contract for the highest bid which received some criticism from some stressing that SMR made a better offer with its larger investment pledge. After the sighing of the contract was made the first $150 Million dollars was delivered by A-TEC, problems arose however after A-TEC missed its deadline for the second payment at $230 Million. The Serbian Minister of Economy, Mlađan Dinkić moved to have the contract canceled stressing that A-TEC did not honor their contract. A-TEC made several attempts to rectify the problem by increasing their offer slightly for an extended deadline. The company announced it was having trouble securing bank guarantees due to the global credit crunch or recession
Recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction, a general slowdown in economic activity. During recessions, many macroeconomic indicators vary in a similar way...

 scare. It announced that it had secured the next payment with the help of the Austrian government. A-TEC was not permitted to see the $150 million dollars it had already paid fore returned. The Serbian government at this time had however voted to scrap the contract and offer Russian SMR the second ranked bidder a chance to purchase RTB Bor. SMR was contacted by the privatization agency and entered negotiations about the previous offer made. Over all interest was lost by SMR as they decided not to change their first offer and stated they would not do so in the future. As such the second tender had officially failed. It is not likely that a third tender for the company will have to be called.

Geology

RTB Bor deposits are located in the western part of the Carpathian Arch
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe...

 and are mostly of the porphyritic type within the Upper Timok Eruptive Zone. Currently undeveloped underground deposit "Borska reka" located within the Cerovo complex underground pit "Jama" is potentially a very important mineral resource.
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