Mineco hosts UK Trade Mission in Serbia

The trade initiative ‘Business is GREAT’ by UK Department for International Trade (DIT) invited a delegation of UK companies to participate in a trade roadshow to the Balkan countries, promoting UK Businesses abroad. This year, companies specialising in equipment and services for the mining sector spent a week in Serbia and Bulgaria. As a country with historically immense expertise in mining, specialised products and services for the mining sector from the United Kingdom are highly sought after globally. Mineco, along with RioTinto, Tethyan Resources and EPS Coal represented a selection of the locally operating companies. After opening remarks by the Minister for Mining and Energy, Mr. Aleksandar Antic and presentations by the UK delegation, each mining company was introduced and a series of 1-2-1 meetings were held, discussing individual business opportunities. This was followed by a wonderful evening reception by HMA Denis Keefe at his residence in Belgrade.

On the following day, Mineco hosted a visit to its mining operation in Rudnik, where the delegation was received by General Manager Aco Ilic and got the opportunity to visit the mine’s surface facilities and processing plant. This visit provided a unique chance for the UK delegation to gain some insight to the unique challenges of the mining industry in Serbia. Rudnik mine is widely regarded as the most successful privatisation in the region, which is supported by the recent award by the European Union for excellence in operational health and safety. However, the technology in narrow vein mining has seen little to no innovation over the last decades, which must be addressed urgently by equipment providers. The importance of such events cannot be overstated, as access to specialised services and products are crucial for mining companies. It was a very productive week and many new contacts were made. Mineco would like to thank HMA Mr Denis Keefe, the team from the DIT as well as the Rudnik staff for facilitating this event.