OREANDA-NEWS. June 22, 2017. Following efforts by the Serbian government to reform the country’s mining law, the sector is forecasting a total investment of up to US$3 billion over the next five years, marketintelligence.spglobal.com reported with reference to Terragold mining engineer Dragan Milosevic.

“There is a bright future for mining in Serbia,” he said during the European Minex Forum on June 14. “We have 120 exploration licences already active […] and there are probably more than 20 or 30 requests in the ministry for an exploration licence.”

Milosevic also said there were lots of opportunities in the exploration sector, noting that in 2017, US$60 million was earmarked for geological exploration.

Attorney-at-law Milan Parivodic, who worked on the development of the new mining legislation, agreed this was a turning point for Serbia. However, he said a lot depends on how the government implements changes in legislation.

“We should continue putting constructive pressure on the government to further improve on all aspects of investment and mining,” he said during the conference.

The new legislation was drafted in 2015 and based on Swedish and Finnish mining law.

Several major companies have their eyes on mining projects in Serbia, including Rio Tinto, which is currently developing the Jadar lithium deposit. The project is 100% owned by the company and controlled by its subsidiary Rio Sava Exploration.