IDENTIFYING OPPORTUNITIES Rudnik, Serbia’s first privatised underground mine, produces zinc, lead, copper and silver. In an interview with Vanja Švačko, Darko Vukobratović, general manager and co-owner of Rudnik’s holding company Contango along with the company Mineco, talks about the company’s strategies in seeking opportunities to expand its operations.
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he name Rudnik signifies three different aspects in one common concept: it is the mountain in which the polymetalic deposit mine is located, a small mining town built upon it and the company engaged in production and processing of metals and their concentrates. The mine covers an area of 3x1.5 km, with over 90 ore bodies of
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various sizes, volumes and spatial positions, mined by frontal excavation. There is evidence that mineral exploitations in this archeologically rich region dates back to the Neolithic period. In the Middle Ages the mine was the basis of the country’s wealth and power, symbolising prosperity through the centuries, not least in its produc-
tion of silver for coins. In the 19th century iron and lead were used for military purposes and the operation in the mine started to take the shape of an organised industry. Throughout its turbulent history the mine survived several wars. It was in 1952 that the current company Rudnik was founded. Despite the flotation plant being burnt
