Huge gold deposit discovered in Serbia – official

The find boosts the country's position as the leader in the Balkan region in terms of reserves

A large gold deposit has been discovered in Serbia, the minister of mining and energy, Dubravka Dedovic Negre, announced on Friday.

Preliminary results of technological tests have shown that it is possible to extract pure gold concentrate with a total gold utilization rate of more than 93% from the new deposit, the official said.

She stressed that the discovery could be of great importance for the country’s economy, especially for eastern Serbia.

The find was made by Canadian-based international gold mining company Dundee Precious Metals, which operates projects in the Balkan country. The company said it discovered a high-grade deposit at the Coka Rakita exploration prospect in eastern Serbia and expects “exceptional results” from recent drilling.

The head of the ministry stressed that the project is at the analysis stage and that additional studies are necessary to verify the deposit volume.

READ MORE: Offshore gas deposit discovered in Egypt

Earlier, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said his country has substantially increased gold reserves over the past two years.

According to the World Gold Council’s latest data, Serbia’s gold reserves of 38.1 tons make it the leading Balkan economy in terms of gold reserves and 54th in the world.

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