Bulgaria's Assarel Medet To Invest 1.5 Mln Euro in Sports Hall Bulgarian copper mining company Asarel Medet will invest at least 3.0 million levs in the construction of a sports hall in the town of Panagyurishte where it is based. The company signed a public-private partnership agreement with the town located in southern Bulgaria for the building of a multi-purpose sports hall. Initial estimates put the project's cost between three and five million levs. The Panagyurishte municipality will provide a plot of land in the town park as an in-kind contribution. Construction works are expected to start next year and the completion of the project is scheduled for 2013.
Source: Dnevnik (12.01.2011)

Assarel Medet started production of cathode copper as well The first 130 tons of cathode copper with purity of 99.99% was produced from the Panagyurishte-based mining and processing complex Assarel-Medet in the pre-release period of a new installation for extraction and electrolysis of copper (SX-EW). It invested over BGN 37 million, the company announced. The facility has an annual production capacity of 1500 tons of cathodes copper. With its construction is reconstructed and modernized the existing installation for the microbiological leaching, thereby sharply increasing the profitability of the process and greater environmental impact is achieved. "With this project we respond to one of the global challenges of the modern mining industry - to introduce leading technologies for sustainable, full use of available mineral resources," said Executive Director Prof. Lachezar Tsotsorkov. The facility ensures low cost of the produced metal, as depending on the stock prices of copper, the invested funds are expected to pay within a period of 4 to 7 years. The installation of Assarel-Medet is unique not only for the Bulgarian mining sector, but also at European level, because for the first time copper is extracted from the productive solutions of mine waters with much lower metal content. Instead of treating and subsequently disposing of sludge in these waters, the copper is extracted and with practically waste-free technology, said the project leader Prof. Marin Poibrenski. Basic engineering and the equipment of the installation are of the leading in this area Finnish company Outotec, the working draft was prepared by Niproruda and the construction works were carried out by MIG Engineering and Metallic for about a year. Thus, apart from copper flotation concentrate with 25% copper content, Assarel-Medet will produce pure cathode copper as well. The official launch of the facility is expected within several months. The Executive Environment Agency has issued an integrated permit for the facility, the company explained.
Source: Dnevnik (18.01.2011)

Bulgarian metal ore exports up 208% in March Exports of metal ores from Bulgaria rose by 208 per cent year-on-year in March 2011, according to data from the National Statistics Institute (NSI). The major ores products exported from Bulgaria are copper, zinc and lead. Leading companies in the sector are Asarel Medet, Gorubso Madan, Aurubis Bulgaria (former MDK Pirdop) KCM Plovdiv, Kardjali OCK, and Chelopech Mining, the report said. Additionally, energy exports soared by 148 per cent annually, while total industrial exports increased by 58 per cent year-on-year, Investor.bg reported. In February, industrial exports increased by 40 per cent on an annual basis and in January by 66 per cent. Total exports increased by 47 per cent in February and a by a record 72 per cent in January 2011. Strong growth in exports during March was also observed in other sectors such as food products (71 per cent), tobacco (76 per cent), paper and cardboard (57 per cent), basic metals (88 per cent), as well as computer and communication equipment, and electronic and optical products (54 per cent). Pharmaceutical products also registered an increase of exports of 20 per cent.
Source: investor.bg (11.05.2011)

Assarel-Medet with new plant Panagyurishte-based mining company Assarel - Medet will officially open a high-tech plant for extraction and electrolytic cathode copper today. It will also launch a new cyclic-flow technology for the transport of mining overburden. Bringing together the Prime Minister, Minister of Environment Minister and Economy Minister, the company will also use the occasion to mark the opening of a treatment plant for drainage water from the Eastern dump in Assarel Medet, and a small hydro power plant Kaleto that processes water from the dam “Zhekov Vir”. The investment of the company in the four facilities is estimated at over BGN 140 million. The introduction of new technologies plans to increase production efficiency in the open mining and enrichment of copper ores. “Leading technologies and practices in environment and sustainable development” will be implemented. According to the company, about BGN 50 million have been invested in environmental projects for the period 1999 - 2010. (iNews.bg)
Source: Other (31.05.2011)

Bulgaria's Asarel Medet Opens New Capacities Worth Some 77 Mln Euro Bulgarian copper mining company Asarel Medet opened on Tuesday four new capacities worth more than 150 million levs ($109.5 million/76.7 million euro) in total as part of its post-privatisation investment plan, the economy ministry said. The biggest part of the investment, over 100 million levs, was channeled into a new line for soil and rock removal in strip mining with installed capacity of 5,000 tonnes per hour. The German-supplied equipment will reduce greenhouse emissions by 41%, the economy ministry said in a statement. A further 40 million levs of the total were invested in a new line for extraction and electrolysis of copper cathodes from pit waters with output capacity of 1,500 tonnes of cathodes per year. Asarel Medet, located in Panagyurishte in central Bulgaria, on Tuesday also opened an installation for purification of drainage water featuring Austrian equipment, and a three-megawat hydroelectric unit. Since the company’s privatisation in 1999, more than 500 million levs were invested in upgrades of the copper mining complex.
Source: Dnevnik (01.06.2011)

Bulgaria awards Asarel Medet gold and copper mining concession Bulgaria's Government said on September 7 2011 that it had awarded local copper mining company Asarel Medet a new gold and copper mining concession for a period of 15 years. The concession area spans 1604 hectares, the Government's media office said. Asarel Medet is required to pump at least 38 million leva worth of investments in the first five years of the concession and to secure an average annual production of 2.775 million tons of raw materials. The company is expected pay an annual concession fee of at least 2.8 million leva, with half of the sum to be transferred to the budget of the municipality of Pazardzhik, where the concession area is located. (Dnevnik)
Source: investor.bg (08.09.2011)

Assarel Medet focuses on environmental technologies The copper company Assarel Medet demonstrated the incredible until recently thesis that mining companies are among the most active in imposing the principles of sustainable development. In addition to the several programs for reforestation and reclamation, the company invested significant resources in innovative technologies that reduce pollution and help for the full utilization of resources. One of the most interesting projects at Assarel is the installation of extraction and electrolysis of cathode copper from mine waters, which was opened in late May. Behind this long name, it's an installation that not only extracts copper from the water, instead of it going to the plant, but also turns it into metal ingots with a purity of 99.99%, which is basically a stock product. The project has not only environmental but also economic and social impact, since its implementation will double the life of the mine. Among other new projects of the company is cyclical-line for transportation of mine open-cast dig-out. This technology will replace many of the trucks currently transporting rock mass, which will save over 40% of the exhaust emissions of mining vehicles.
Source: Capital (11.11.2011)

Metallurgical companies may stop operations because of the strike in BDZ The meeting between the management of BDZ and unions ended without convergence of positions. This means that effective strike begins today and to trains in the country are expected not to run between 8 and 16 h. For passenger this is another inconvenience caused by the public carrier, however, for business consequences can be far more severe. Particularly serious is the situation in the mining and metallurgical enterprises, which carry large volumes of raw produce and it is difficult to find an alternative. If the strike lasts longer, it may even lead to blocking the work of some of them due to lack of raw materials or inability to keep their production. "Most of the steel industry cargoes are transported at night, so that the transport will not be stopped completely. There will be, however, delays in stations and border crossings, and BDZ will probably look to run passenger trains with higher priority," said Politimi Paunova, CEO Bulgarian Association of Metallurgical Industry (BAMI). The strike will affect the supply of raw materials, which can prove fatal for businesses as stocks at some point will be exhausted, while production processes are uninterruptable. Difficult transportation of finished products will force companies to pay penalties and in an extreme turn of events could cost them market share. "It may be necessary to reduce the transported quantities and even the production, and this will reduce our competitiveness," said Anton Petrov, regional representative of the Greek Viohalco Group. In his words, this situation is highly undesirable as metallurgical industry is one of the most export-oriented and therefore one of the important engines of economic growth. Even more serious is the problem with some metallurgical enterprises such as Plovdiv-based KCM SA (Non-ferrous Metals Smelter), Lead and Zinc Complex (OTzK) in Kurdzhali and Aurubis Bulgaria, which produces sulfuric acid from its waste gas. On the one hand, they cannot stop producing acid since the release of processed gas without filtering of sulfur dioxide is unacceptable. On the other hand, plants have limited capacity for storage of liquid products. "Tanks with sulfuric acid must be transported regularly, it cannot simply be cast. If transportation remains troubled for a longer period, companies should stop production," said Paunova. "About 80-90% of the ore is carried by our own road transport, so the strike of BDZ will not affect us much," said Roberto Mladenov, CEO of the majority owner of OTzK – Intertrust Holding. But he chose not to comment on what will happen if the company cannot be supplied with sulfuric acid. Currently OTzK product are shipped to Turkey, using the services of the railways. Metallurgical plants transport cargo by the railways are about 5-6 million tons a year according to BAMI. Stomana Industry alone carries about 2 million tons of steel and steel products. Aurubis and KCM carry over 1.2-1.3 million tons of sulfuric acid annually. Few days ago the association sent a letter to Transport Minister, which warned of serious danger to the sector if the strikes failed their transport schedule. "Metallurgical enterprises have no alternative to rail transport," said Petrov. According to Vice-President of the Bulgarian Industrial Association Kamen Kolev, road transport is not suitable for bulky goods, and at longer distances it is not profitable. Mining enterprises, which do not process the concentrates on spot, face the same problems. One exception is Asarel Medet, which uses the road to the nearby town of Pirdop. Chelopech Mining, however, carries large quantities of concentrate to the port of Burgas, where the product goes to the company's plant in Namibia. "The last resort is to haul the concentrate by trucks, but it is not appropriate because it will make a lot of courses," said Executive Director Nikolay Hristov. Whether auto transport can assume the shipments is also questionable. According to the chairman of the Bulgarian Federation of Industrial Energy Consumers Konstantin Stamenov, BDZ transported about 35 thousand tons a day, which means that it will take more than 1,700 trucks to handle this volume. "We have no such specialized trucks that can take the shipments if tomorrow all railroad transport stops," said Georgi Minchev, owner of Trans-Balkan and chairman of the Bulgarian Association for Freight Forwarding, Transport and Logistics (FIATA). Even if enough trucks are find, however, it will increase transportation costs and will further hinder them in their timid attempts to overcome the effects of the crisis. And they, unlike the state railways can not afford to work for years at a loss.
Source: Capital (24.11.2011)