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A Cyprus-based company is among three bidders trying to strike a partnership with Serbia’s only copper mine and smelter.
According to media reports, China’s Zijin Mining, Canadian-Finnish fund Champion and Cyprus-based U Gold have bid for a strategic partnership in RTB Bor.
U Gold Limited, a Nicosia-registered company formerly known as UGOLD PLC, owned coal mines in Ukraine and hotels in Montenegro according to Vecernje Novosti daily. The Belgrade-based paper also said the company was backed by Russian assets, but no sources were cited.
The Belgrade-based paper also said the company was backed by Russian assets, but no sources were cited
The Serbian government had announced a day earlier that only companies from Canada, China and Russia had bid for RTB Bor.
In July, Belgrade invited bids for a partner to invest at least $350 million in RTB Bor, which was facing financial problems.
Previous attempts to sell the debt-laden company had failed.
The precondition for review of the applications was a deposit payment or guarantee to the tune of $1 million, while a consortium arrangment is not ruled out by the terms of the tender.
Under the terms of the tender, the prospective partner would have to increase the company’s production and keep its entire workforce of 5,000, according to Vecernje Novosti.
