Investors from Austria, Iran and Latvia are interested in the exploitation of gypsum, whose mine was found at the locality Presjeka, around 5 kilometers away from Ustikolina. Even before there was interest from investors but site has not been used yet, even though there is a demand for gypsum because according to the available data, there is small number of gypsum mines in Europe. Presjeka, according to some sources, is one of the few mines of gypsum in the Balkans. Ministry of Economy of BPC initiated the concession, as confirmed by the Minister Meho Masala.
“In the last few months in conversations at the ambassadorial level we had interest in this locality and this ore. We have been asked to prepare a summary of the project, and all information about potentials, where it is, the road infrastructure and other infrastructure that are required for the activation of sites. The Ministry started and prepared a campaign to promote this ore on a global level, in order to inform and attract potential investors about the resource and made a public call for concessions in the following period.”
“We believe that the site can be activated, given that at the moment we have preliminary information about this site, we should do a study on the exploitation and development of facilities for processing, or production of final products. The implementation of this project would contribute to new employments,” said Minister Masala.
According to estimates of expert, Gorazde gypsum has excellent quality. About 11 million tons of gypsum is located on an area of about 3.5 hectares, which is enough for exploitation in the next 50 years.
According to Masala, required investment for activation of this site was estimated at 10 to 20 million BAM.
(Source: E. A./Klix.ba)
