The Australian company Middle Island Resources, by taking over another Australian firm, Konstantin Resources, has become the owner of 14 licenses for mineral exploration in Serbia, covering as much as 62,000 hectares – more than any other company in the country. Exploration has already begun at Bobija.
The licenses cover three main project areas – Bobija, Priboj, and Timok – primarily focused on gold and copper, but also silver, lead, and zinc, reports the Australian outlet Mining, as cited by Ekapija.
The Bobija project, which the new owner will focus on first, spans a total of 20,800 hectares and is located only about 100 km southwest of Belgrade.
It includes three issued exploration permits – Bobija, Bobija East, and Kamenita Kosa – as well as an application for Orovica and a ten-year option for two mining licenses owned by the local company Bobija doo Ljubovija.
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Exploration begins at Bobija
According to Australian media, Middle Island has already begun exploration at the Bobija project. This refers to Mount Bobija near Ljubovija, where a barite mine once operated, and where the Australians now want to search for gold and other valuable metals in the former open-pit site.
Barite production at this pit took place between the two world wars, and during the 1960s and 1980s, the Yugoslav government also carried out exploration. Gold, however, was not the focus, although later studies by Reservoir Minerals and Nevsun Resources (from 2014 to 2017) showed significant polymetallic mineralization close to the surface, reported Business News Australia, also cited by Ekapija.
Based on 2022 data from the Ministry of Mining, further processed and analyzed by BIRN Serbia, Konstantin Resources was the company with the largest exploration area. At the time, it was noted that the company held 71,089 hectares across 11 locations stretching from Eastern Serbia, through Šumadija, to the far west of the country. The locations include Žagubica, Kučevo, Petrovac na Mlavi, Majdanpek, Golubac, Požega, Čačak, Gornji Milanovac, Kosjerić, Priboj, and Nova Varoš.
“Recent work by Konstantin Resources also revealed significant quantities of gold associated with the primary base-metal mineralization that was historically the main target of exploration,” said Daniel Raihani, director of Middle Island.
Middle Island states that the site shows similarities with the Vareš project in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a high-quality polymetallic deposit with an estimated 20.9 million tons of ore. Soil sampling is currently underway across the wider Bobija area to verify stream sediment anomalies from 2024.
Middle Island Resources and “modern Serbian mining legislation”
Middle Island Resources is not a major player in the global mining market, but with its exploration area in Australia covering 860,000 hectares, combined with the potential copper and gold discoveries in Serbia, and, as Business News notes, “modern Serbian mining legislation and developed infrastructure,” the company is in a position to make a breakthrough in this fertile mining region.
On September 2, the company announced it was acquiring Konstantin Resources Limited for 9.5 million Australian dollars, paid through 475 million of its shares. However, the transaction requires shareholder approval, expected by late October or early November.
The acquisition is said to be part of Middle Island’s strategy to transform into a global copper and gold explorer, supported by a parallel share issuance worth 3.4 million dollars to finance exploration.
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Source: N1, Foto: Pixnio