Mining

Bosnian entity observes day of mourning for miners

ZENICA -- The Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina (FBiH) entity in Bosnia-Herzegovina is on Monday observing a day of mourning for five miners who perished in an accident.

The miners, who will be buried today, died last week in a coal mine collapse near the town of Zenica.

BELGRADE - Serbia's Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic sent on Friday a telegram of condolences to head of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidency Vjekoslav Bevanda and the families of the miners killed in the Zenica coal mine, and he also offered Serbia's assistance in repairing the damage.

The miners' union announced the deaths on Friday after a dramatic rescue operation at the Raspotocje mine in Zenica that managed to save the lives of most of the men who had been trapped underground since the earthquake the previous day.

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Five Bosnian coal miners were killed after an earthquake triggered a tunnel cave-in, trapping dozens of men underground for 20 hours, a union leader said Friday.
      
"Twenty-nine (trapped miners) came out, but unfortunately five did not survive," Sinan Husic said on national television, without offering details on the circumstances and time of the men's death.        

Bulgaria's caretaker government has approved the issuance of a metallic mineral prospecting permit at the Borimechkovo terrain.

The permit will be granted to Asarel-Exploration EAD, the investment arm of leading copper ore mining and processing company Asarel-Medet, for a period of three years, according to reports of money.bg.

Bulgarian miners have asked caretaker Prime Minister Georgi Bliznashki to lift the ban on shale gas extraction through hydraulic fracturing.

Bulgaria ranks first in Europe in the extraction of copper and gold, data from the Bulgarian Chamber of Mining and Geology shows.

The sector currently employs 24 000 people, with wages rising, according to the chamber's report cited by Money.bg.

Some 600 mining depots have so fat been located in Bulgaria, and coal as the main resource extracted from them.

Nine workers have been trapped after a cave-in at a private mining facility in the Black Sea province of Zonguldak, according to initial reports. 

Opponents of the gold mine in the area of Skouries are planning to camp in the Halkidiki forest from August 22 until the end of the month.

Protesters plan to use this period to organize peaceful demonstrations, concerts and other events to display their opposition to the activities of Canadian-owned Hellas Gold in the area.

RUDNIK - Minister of Energy and Mining Aleksandar Antic said on Wednesday that Serbia's mining resources, coupled with a modern law on mining and geological exploration, could attract investors and significantly contribute to the overall development of the national economy.