Feature: China's green transition experience helps Serbia build "green mines"

by Xinhua writers Zhang Xuan, Nemanja Cabric

BOR, Serbia, May 13 (Xinhua) -- In early May, beneath the towering white chimneys of the eastern Serbian mining city of Bor, tulips bloomed like a tapestry across a colorful field, a striking testament to how Chinese enterprises are helping local mines embrace green governance and restore ecosystems.

"Eight years ago, the air was filled with the pungent smell of sulfides, and you could physically feel the irritation in your throat from the pollution. But today, that is entirely gone," Gordan Micic, an employee of Serbia Zijin Copper Doo Bor (SZC), told Xinhua.

As a mining city with a history of over a century, Bor's economy had long relied on a highly polluting development model of resource extraction, smelting and processing.

Zhong Junhua, SZC's deputy director of environmental protection, recalled that due to a chronic lack of environmental investment, the overall environmental situation at the mines used to be severe.

SZC, jointly formed by China's Zijin Mining Group Co., Ltd. and the Serbian government in 2018, has pushed for the copper mines' green transition by upgrading the facilities, strengthening technical management, and introducing green mining concepts and rehabilitation technologies.

The Chinese enterprise implemented a series of comprehensive rehabilitation measures, including upgrading the smelter, rebuilding the desulfurization system, and enhancing dust control and smelting gas treatment. They also carried out ecological reclamation on approximately 350,000 square meters of bare land at Bor's old waste rock dump and built 19 environmental pump stations to recover leachate.

By adhering to the sustainable concept of "mining with environmental care" over the past eight years, the Chinese enterprise has effectively improved the environmental quality of the Bor mining area.

Sulfur dioxide concentrations have dropped to about 8 percent of the standard limit, the heavy metal content in particulate matter has decreased significantly, and dust issues have been effectively controlled. At the same time, the pH levels and heavy metal indicators of the local river systems now meet the water quality standards set by the local government.

Sasa Maksimovski, head of SZC's ecology department, told Xinhua that over the past seven years, the company has completed about 4.3 million square meters of landscaping and planted around 1.3 million saplings. "You can see these projects with your own eyes on site; it is already a sea of green," he said.

About a 20-minute drive from the center of Bor lies a clear-water lake highly favored by local residents. This tranquil haven, offering leisure and quiet to the industrial town, carries the Chinese enterprise's long-term vision of green development.

Maksimovski noted that alongside heavy financial investments, the Chinese enterprise has introduced multiple advanced technologies, including the hydroseeding technology currently used for local greening.

"Last year, I traveled to several places in China for study and exchange, visiting smelters, lithium projects, open-pit mines, and various greening projects," he said. "That experience largely changed my perception. China's development speed is incredibly fast, and these technologies are not yet widely applied in Serbia."

Zhong added that China has relatively mature mine transformation models and technologies that SZC hopes to further apply in its local operation and bring more benefits to local people. Enditem