CONSTRUCTION WASTE IS A VALUABLE RAW

Construction Waste Is A Valuable RAW MATERIAL

Šuteks is a company that has been dealing with the disposal of rubble, refuse and waste for 18 years. The company has ever more work, not only in Belgrade, which is one big construction site, but also across the country

Darko Draganović, Šuteks general director, and Slobodan Draganović, Šuteks technical director

The most important thing for construction waste management is to ensure the obligation to secure sorting and separating for reuse and recycling at the point of origin. That will then significantly ease the further management of this waste - explains Šuteks Technical Director Slobodan Draganović

Šuteks has also worked for the Rio Tinto subcontractor?

What was specific about that cooperation?

Yes, we also worked for this large, world-renowned company, and that cooperation was very important for us. Foreign companies in our country work according to our laws, but also according to their own, in the case that they are more stringent than ours, which only shows how responsible they are and how much attention they pay to environmental protection.

Although up to 80 per cent of rubble and other construction waste can be reused, it still ends up in landfill sites in our country. Do you think that problem could be solved through changes to regulations and laws?

The construction industry, as one of the leading contributors in terms of the consumption of raw materials, has gradually become an increasing source of pollution due to the huge amounts of construction waste it generates. The issue of construction waste has not yet been resolved in Serbia. EU member states and other developed countries, such as Japan, have long viewed construction waste as a significant raw material for sustainable development and green building, while in the Netherlands and Denmark up to 90 per cent of all construction waste is recycled.

It is estimated that between a million and 1.5 million cubic metres of construction waste is generated in Serbia annually, while the percentage of construction waste that is recycled is negligible. The most prevalent construction waste items – concrete, asphalt, wood, brick, tiles, ceramics, steel, aluminium, iron, copper, gypsum and glass – can be recycled and have their own market value and many application possibilities. That’s why it’s important for the competent institutions to create the necessary preconditions for the recycling of this waste by amending the legal framework. This would allow this type of waste to be treated as a raw material, and not as waste.

The EU has long since adopted a package of measures relating to the transition from a linear to a circular economy, and that is a direction that Serbia will have to follow on its road to EU accession.

Otherwise, mining waste can be used as a building material, for making barriers, for local rural roads, for raising embankments during floods, and even for covering fires.

How can our companies be equipped to work according to European standards, given that none of them have a license to create new material from waste? There is no existing legislation that prescribes such licenses. That’s why it’s essential to amend the existing legal framework, with which the obligations and responsibilities of all participants in the waste management process will be clearly defined, and which will at the same time ensure the conditions for protecting the environment. There is huge potential for the reuse of waste materials and the recycling of construction waste, because – in addition to saving resources and raw materials – that also enables additional savings to be made in the economic domain, in terms of the price of materials, transport and mechanisation.

Are the potential for savings in construction and the preservation of the environment sufficient reasons for the state to priorities addressing this issue?

As a socially responsible company, Šuteks d.o.o. certainly monitors and fulfils all legal obligations and has all essential permits required to ensure that, primarily, waste management is carried out in a safe way for the health of Serbian citizens and the environment. Simultaneously, we also expect the state to take a serious approach to solving this problem in the coming period, because construction – as one of the leading industrial activities – will be an ever growing consumer of raw materials and natural resources, and consequently an ever growing producer of solid waste and a source of air, water and land pollution.

Chasing THE BALANCE

According to market and consumer data company Statista, the mining industry's market size is expected to increase worldwide by 10.1% in 2021. As such, mining is considered a highly desirable area of activity from the perspective of GDP growth and the creation of new jobs. However, with modern societies requiring ever more rare minerals in order to function, questions related to sustainability are becoming even more important.

Do we need mining? It comes across as an awkward question. Indeed, the mining sector represents one of the world economy’s strongest engines. The revenue generated by the top 40 global mining companies, which represent a vast majority of the whole industry, amounted to around 692 billion U.S. dollars in 2019, according to Statista. The market size of the mining industry is expected to increase worldwide by 10.1% in 2021. As such, mining is considered as being highly desirable from the perspective of GDP growth and the creation of new jobs.

However, mining contributes across the world to erosion, deforestation, biodiversity loss, the use of significant water resources, wastewater disposal issues and the contamination of soil, all of which contribute to the degradation of health in the local communities where mining takes place.

How can these two be brought closer together? In the future, modern societies will certainly demand, produce and purchase metals and minerals in even larger quantities than today. Rare minerals will be needed, for example, in infrastructure, communications equipment and sustainable energy systems (solar cells, wind turbines, batteries etc.).

Under such circumstances, pressure is mounting for the mining industry to adhere to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. In order to be considered sustainable, a mining community needs to adhere to the principles of ecological sustainability, economic vitality and social equity.

The mining and minerals industries have an impact on all three dimensions of sustainability, both positively and negatively. However, experts warn that without the industry’s contribution, not least in supplying materials for the necessary technological transformation of global energy systems, climate change would become difficult to solve.

Sustainable mining itself might be an oxymoron, given that every single mine has a limited lifespan and is ultimately abandoned when a mining company loses the ability to extract minerals profitably, which depends entirely on the percentage of a mineral contained in the ore. In that respect, mineral resources are viewed as finite and non-renewable.

When discussing sustainability, therefore, we highlight the environmental concerns that can be addressed through different types of measures, including shifting to new technologies. Economic aspects include social development, prosperity, competitiveness, resource management and the circular economy. Environmental considerations must take into account emissions, waste management, post-extraction remediation, the conservation of nature, energy use and climate.

In summary, modern mining processes involve prospecting for ore bodies, analysing the profit potential of a proposed mine, extracting the desired materials and carrying out the final reclamation of land after a mine has been closed. These practises include measures like reducing the consumption of water and energy, minimising land disturbances and waste production, preventing the pollution of soil, water and air at mine sites and conducting successful mine closures and reclamation activities.

As such, environmental criteria have to be embedded in today’s investment and business decision-making processes from the very outset. The use of new technological solutions represents the backbone for ensuring operations and processes are made more efficient, collaborative in nature and more traceable. Those are some of the values being embraced by modern mining in the 21st century.

The new consensus on sustainability has resulted in strategic alliances being forged between the mining industry and some of the largest conservation organisations, including the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Conservation International and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

As previously mentioned, new technologies are also contributing to the development of 21st century mining.

The latest technological trends in mining indicate a compelling shift in the industry towards sustainability. By effectively using new technologies like geospatial data, the mining industry gains insights into mine systems at a reduced cost and with a reduced impact on the environment. Industry experts observe that it will soon be pos-

sible to virtually construct and deconstruct buildings, plants, mines and all associated infrastructure before ground is even broken, thus creating a truly intelligent mine.

Geographic information systems (GIS) are an integral tool that allows a deeper look at how mining can be made more efficient in terms of location and accessibility.

Furthermore, artificial intelligence (AI) is also in use in advanced mining firms. Those companies use smart data and machine learning to improve operational efficiency, mine safety and production workflows. Implementing AI technology generates day-to-day data in half the time than was previously the case on the ground. As a result, companies can more easily find minerals by using high-performance AI technology. Furthermore, firms across the globe are increasingly using autonomous vehicles and drills in their pit-to-pit operations. This is resulting in drilling systems being simplified and representing much safer workplaces. Consequently, using mining equipment that encompasses AI helps to ensure safety and reliability for both miners and the land that mines occupy.

Over recent years, advanced mining companies have increasingly been using drones or unmanned aerial systems (UAS) to replace helicopters , thereby reducing their costs.

These new technologies also allow mining companies to efficiently use lower ore grades, work under extreme weather conditions, access deeper deposits, or treat harder rock mass and high-stress environments.

In deciding how to mine, states and companies today rely on an integrated assessment of ecological, environmental, economic and social impacts. Decision-making processes usually entail making choices and trade-offs between competing interests

Treasure Under and ABOVE GROUND

There are more than 200 mines in Serbia, and, several dozen deposits, so the value of the country's mineral wealth is estimated at more than $ 200 billion.

Experts believe that mining in Serbia could be the main competitive advantage of our economy over the coming years, contributing to economic growth and development, being environmentally friendly at the same time. The competent persons intend to enable a modern and more successful mining sector in Serbia, to attract new investors to comply with all the regulations and the highest environmental standards, in order to protect the beautiful nature of Serbia around the existing and future mines.

BEAUTIFUL NATURE OF BOR CANNOT BE

HIDDEN BY MINE DUST

One of the largest mines in Serbia is located in Bor, with Veliki krš and Mali krš mountain ranges in the immediate vicinity, about ten kilometres northwest of the city. Some of the favourite cycling routes are located on those mountains, attracting cyclists from the whole Europe. On the Dubašnica mountain, near Bor, there are the Samar Gates. Gates are the remains of caves, manifested as splendid gates that, when observed from the ground, show the magnificence of nature, and how small we are in relation to them and to those rock giants.

Near the village of Zlot there is a huge cave system, one of the largest in Europe, with a dozen caves and pits. The best known are Lazar’s Cave and Vernjikica.

There is also the Bor Lake, an artificial lake formed in 1959 when the dam and accumulation for the water of rivers Valja Žoni, Marecova and a part of the basin of Zlotska River were constructed. The lake is located at the foothill of the Crni vrh Mountain, whose clear mountain springs fill the lake with water. The bathing season lasts for more than two months, which is a rather long period compared to other lakes. Few know that there is the Tilva Njagra volcano cup over the Bor lake. The Lazar’s Canyon might be the largest and the most beautiful attraction

in the Bor municipality. Its robustness and impressiveness are beyond words. It is about 4.5km long and up to 350m deep on the left side and more than 500m on the right side, below Malinik. The smallest length of the riverbed and the Canyon is between three and four metres. There are no walking trails along the Canyon, and it is impossible to get down into the Canyon or get out of it. The sides of the canyon are very steep, mostly vertical.

NATURAL RESOURCES OF MAJDANPEK ATTRACT NUMEROUS TOURISTS

White Spring

Near Majdanpek, there is a natural stone brigde Valja prerast, the natural monument of exceptional importance. It was placed under the state protection in 1959, with the “Beli izvor” site with a 17-metrehigh waterfall near it and about fifty tufa lakes. This natural resource may promote the tourist offer and complete the wonderful picture of Majdanpek – the mining town.

People in Majdanpek believe that Valja prerast and Beli izvor will soon become well-known tourist destinations in the country.

“BELA STENA” SURROUNDED BY AMAZING CREEKS, STREAMS AND RIVERS

Ibar river

The “Bela stena” magnesium mine is located near Baljevac in the Municipality of Raška. This small town is tucked away between Kopaonik and Golija mountains, in the valley in which first the Trnavska River flows into Raška, and then Raška flows into Ibar, and it is no wonder that it is visited by hikers, rafters, paragliders, fishermen, and skiers throughout the year. There are some of the greatest medieval monuments like Studenica, Gradac, Končul, Nova and Stara Pavlica monasteries. The natural resource of this region consists of numerous watercourses, with the most important rivers like Ibar, Jošanica, Brvenica, Radošićka, Rudnička, and Raška. Due to numerous rivers, this whole region is full of other hydrological resources, such as: healing thermal springs and

numerous wells and lakes, the best-known of which are the Semetsko Lake, and Kazanovske bačije i Marina voda radioactive springs. These healing thermal springs are exploited, and everybody knows of Jošanička Spa near Raška.

Apart from hydrological potentials of the rivers and the wonderful nature surrounding them, Raška is tucked in between Golija and Kopaonik mountains, visited by increasing numbers of tourists every year.

WHAT IS MORE VALUABLE - SIJARINSKA SPA OR LECE MINE?

The “Drmno” deposit is located in the eastern part of the Kostolac Coal Basin, east of Mlava River, covering the area of about 50 km2. Some 25 % of lignite in Serbia is produced in the Kostolac Basin, supplying the Kostolac thermal power plant.

Kostolac is located in the middle of Braničevo, with Stiška Plain, the rivers Danube, Morava and Mlava, artificial lakes, Homoljske Mountains, thermal springs, medieval fortresses in Golubac and Ram, monasteries, churches and archaeological sites. Near the old Kostolac there is the church of the Great Martyr St. George. It is located on the hill called Mali grad, overlooking the surroundings of Kostolac, the estuary of Mlava into the Danube, and with a view of Banat.

SENJE MINE - STILL A SYMBOL OF MINERS AND MINING IN SERBIA

Sijarin Spa

God, they say, was not frugal when he gave the natural resources and beauty to Medvedja and its surroundings. Sijarinska Spa got the most of it, with more than 20 healing springs, geyser, clean river, thick forests and spacious meadows, with Lece Hill with ore resources worth billions of dollars under it. The Sijarinska Spa is located on the river banks of Jablanica, at the foothill of the Goljak Mountain, at an altitude of 250 meters. The Spa includes springs of sulphur-iron-radioactive and carbonic acid water and a natural geyser, the only one in this part of Europe.

THE KOSTOLAC BASIN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BRANIČEVO DISTRICT

Lisine waterfall

Senje Mine, the oldest dark coal mine, is surrounded by mountains and hills full of beech, oak and pine forests, as well as mountain rivers. In Senje Mine, there is the Coal Mining Museum, opened in 1980, and declared a cultural monument of great importance three years later. At the foothill of the Beljanice Mountain there are the Veliko vrelo spring and a 20-metre-high Veliki buk waterfall, the largest natural waterfall in Serbia. On the territory of Despotovac there is also the Prskalo waterfall. Only a few kilometres from Veliki buk, there is a small river Resava carving its way through the stones of the Kučaj Mountains.

Overlooking the river, there are the rocks of the canyon, a few hundred meters high, approaching each other at only a few meters.

The Resava Cave is located in the limestone hill called Babina glava at an altitude of 485 metres. It is 45 million years old, and it is one of the oldest explored caves in Serbia.

Manasija Monastery is 2 km from Despotovac. It was built next to the right river bank of Resava in a picturesque canyon made up of the high slopes of the Beljanica Mountain. Manasija is the endowment of Despot Stefan Lazarević.

BEAUTIFUL NATURE OF PODRINJE IS CONCENTRATED AROUND ZAJAČA AND JADAR

Banjska Monastery_Photo_Vanjagenije

KOLUBARA MINING BASIN IN THE KOLUBARA AND TAMNAVA RIVER BASINS

Žeravijsko Spring

The nature of Podrinje, consisting of parts of territories of the town of Loznica and the area of Jadar, is rich and versatile. In Zajača, the populated place near Loznica, there is the antimony and lead mine, with Jadar, the largest lithium deposit in the world from which a mine and a tailings pond should be formed. The wonders of this part of Podrinje are supported by the geographically interesting Lešnica, Rađevina and Azbukovica. The most beautiful sites are the Drina River, Banja Koviljača and Banja Badanja spas, Gučevo and Cer Mountains, and Tronoša and Čokešina monasteries. The following sites to be visited in this region, too, are the following: Žeravijsko vrelo, the spring of Žeravija stream, boiling and erupting to surface, Skakavac waterfall that is more than 7m high, and distant 1.5 km from Budimlija, “Rajsku dolinu”, a unique botanic garden in the village of Lipnica, with more than a thousand plant species growing, blooming and smelling on about two hectares of land...

TREPČA WILL ALWAYS BE OUR

LARGEST MINE IN KOSOVO

Since it is located on Kosovo and Metohija, after the division into the Serbian and the Albanian parts, Trepča, as the largest domestic lead and zinc mine, still has the status of a socially-owned enterprise. The head office of the Serbian part is located in Zvečan, and it includes two active mines, Crnac and Belo brdo. The most significant sites of the Municipality of Zvečan are located in the village of Banjska, with a spa for rheumatic and skin diseases, known from the Roman times. There is a medieval monastery Banjska, too, the endowment of Stefan Uroš II Milutin, attracting numerous believers and tourists. In the immediate vicinity, there are also the Sokolica and Devine vode monasteries, representing significant destinations for religious and cultural tourism in this Municipality.

Tamnava River

The Kolubara Mining Basin is a coal mine with a melting plant located near Lazarevac, south of the River Sava, in the Kolubara and Tamnava River Basisn. In the village of Ćelije, above the Ibar Highway, there is the Vrače Hill eaching a height of 240 metres, overlooking the surroundings. It is believed that the holy sorcerers Cosmas and Damian spent part of their lives in the monastery on this foothill that people from Lazarevac enjoy visiting, and that the hill was named after them.