Bosnian miner ArcelorMittal Prijedor invests in uranium enrichment

Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Bosnian iron ore miner ArcelorMittal Prijedor plans to maintain concentrate production in 2014 after receiving 2.1 million tonnes of production last year, says CEO Mladen Jelaka.

He said in an interview: "The economic conditions have been very tough last year and we remain cautious about being optimistic about our plans for 2014, but there are clear targets for the future in terms of performance and we seem to be heading in the right direction."

The current production plan specifies that ArcelorMittal Prijedor will operate at full capacity in 2014, maintaining the pace for three consecutive years. He said that ArcelorMittal Prijedor plans to invest this year in a concentrate plant to maintain concentrate quality for its subsidiary steel plants in Zenica Bosnia, as well as in the Czech Republic and Poland.

ArcelorMittal Prijedor is investing approximately € 10 million ($ 13.8 million) in the acquisition of equipment to be installed at the uranium enrichment plant in 2014. “Over the past three years, we have carried out the necessary research and have recently identified all the necessary equipment. to be installed by the end of 2014, ”Jelaka said.

The company's exploitable iron ore reserves are concentrated in the Buvac mine, which has about 40 million tonnes of reserves. ArcelorMittal Prijedor, based in northwest Bosnia, is a 51/49 joint venture between ArcelorMittal and RZR Ljubija.