The Cerovo copper mine, near Bor, which was closed 10 years ago, was reopened on Wednesday, with an EUR 18 million investment from Rudarsko-Topionicarski Basen Bor (RTB Bor), which expects USD 100 million in annual revenue from it and USD 45 million in clean profit.

"The new equipment for the smelting plant and the mine has arrived. New people have been hired, and it is particularly significant that young people got their first jobs," Minister of Economy and Regional Development Nebojsa Ciric said at the opening ceremony, attended by presidential candidate Boris Tadic, among others.

"The people of Bor knew their rights and obligations and were willing to rebel in order to protect their rights. That is why no privatization occurred. The Bor mining basin has returned to its feet, as it turns out, and its employees did it with their own means, turning this into a stable company now," Ciric stressed.

The average monthly pay in RTB Bor stands at around RSD 60,000, while the miners in the Cerovo pit receive up to RSD 100,000.

RTB Bor General Director Blagoje Spasovski said most of the work had been done by the company alone and that only 7 workers from outside Bor had been hired during the revitalization.

"What is also true is that the revenue from this mine will be at around USD 100 million, with USD 45 million in clean profit," he stated.