Despite the convulsive struggle, opposition of locals, and protests, the Ministry of Energy and Mining of Republika Srpska (RS) has announced a public call for tenders for the award of a concession for the exploitation of coal (lignite) at the “Bistrica” deposit, near Prijedor.
“The subject of the concession is the exploitation of coal (lignite) at the deposit “Bistrica”, near Prijedor. The location where the exploitation will be carried out is located in the northwestern part of the RS. The project involves the exploitation of coal (lignite) by the surface mining method, in a way that provides optimal exploitation of mineral deposits, safety of people, facilities and property, and in accordance with the approved technical documentation,” the invitation states.
The estimated value of the investment is 280,000 BAM, and according to the study on reserves, the deposit has 94,295 tons of balance coal reserves.
“The offeror is obliged to submit with the offer a study of the justification of the concession award with elements of the environmental protection assessment, prepared by a business company or other legal entity that meets the requirements for the preparation of technical documentation in the field of mining”, it is added.
The concession is granted for a period of up to 5 years, counting from the date of conclusion of the Concession Agreement.
Protests in vain
To recall, for a long time there have been legal battles over the exploitation of coal on this deposit, and in July the residents of Bistrica initiated a lawsuit against the Government of the RS, and the Center for Environmental Protection is also dealing with the matter, as journalists wrote about earlier.
At the beginning of July, the Government of RS started the process of awarding a concession for the exploitation of lignite coal at the “Bistrica” deposit near Prijedor, based on the initiative of “Drvo-export” from Teslic.
The residents of the village were forced to organize protests twice, and to defend their properties with their own bodies.
Citizens’ activities were supported by ecologists from the Center for the Environment of Banja Luka, who filed a criminal complaint against an unknown person, and a lawsuit in an administrative dispute against the Government of the RS due to, as they claim, an administrative procedure that is contrary to the decision of the National Assembly of the RS (NARS) on concessions in this area.
Inspections also went to the field in Bistrica, but the mining inspector of the Republic Administration for Inspections of RS did not identify the problem that the locals are talking about, Akta reports.
E.Dz.
