RTB Bor interested in processing copper for Finland

Finnish Ambassador to Serbia Pekka Orpana and Director General of the Copper Mining and Smelting Complex (RTB) Bor Blagoje Spaskovski conferred on Saturday over processing of copper for the needs of the Finnish and Nordic industry, especially car production, Tanjug news agency reports.

We have concluded that it is in Finland's and Serbia's mutual interest for RTB Bor to launch processing and export of its own copper soon, Spaskovski told reporters after the meeting with the Finnish diplomat who is paying a three-day visit to Bor.

Spaskovski recalled that Finland is famous for the production of special high-quality copper processing devices, and underscored that expansion of cooperation with the Finnish companies offers a chance for RTB Bor to start processing its own copper instead of exporting cathodes and pure copper.

After the talks with RTB leadership, Orpana visited the construction site of the new smelting furnace, sulfuric acid plant and the works on the project Finland is participating in.

He recalled that Finland has been in Bor for several years now and underlined that RTB Bor is a very important factor for Finland because of the projects in which Finnish companies invested around EUR 100 million.

The reconstruction of metallurgy aggregates in Bor and the construction of the new sulfuric acid plant are performed by Canadian SNC-Lavalin, Finnish Outotec and RTB Bor, while the Export Development Canada (EDC) agency provided a loan worth EUR 135 million.

Orpana announced that he would visit Bor again in a few months, with a big delegation headed by the Geological Institute from Finland.

We are interested in Serbia because it holds enormous potential in the mining industry, Orpana said and added that Outotec's technology is being implemented in Bor to a considerable degree which constitutes a good basis for the development of future cooperation.