site.btaGovernment Approves Mining Industry Strategy

Government Approves Mining Industry Strategy

Sofia, August 19 (BTA) - The Council of Ministers on Wednesday
approved a National Strategy for the Development of the Mining
Industry until 2030, the Cabinet's Press Service reported. The
news comes after Bulgaria celebrated Miners' Day on Tuesday.

The primary goal of the Strategy is to ensure the sustainable
development of the Bulgarian mining industry. This will be
achieved by adopting a balanced approach of economic, social and
 environmental responsibility towards the prospecting,
extraction and processing of subsurface resources.

The implementation of the priorities laid out in the Strategy
will create a stable investment environment in this key sector
of the Bulgarian economy. An efficient system will be employed
to control the prospecting, extraction and processing of
subsurface resources. A major highlight in the Strategy is the
prevention of illegal mining.

The Strategy will create at least 15,000 new jobs in the mining
industry and will increase public revenues from concession
royalties by 50 per cent from the current annual amount of
between 70 million and 80 million leva, while investments will
rise by 4 billion leva, said Luchezar Tsotsorkov, Chairman of
the Supervisory Board of the Asarel Medet copper works and
Chairman of the Bulgarian Chamber of Mining and Geology.

Energy Minister Temenouzhka Petkova said the mining industry
produces 5 per cent of Bulgaria's GDP and employs 24,000
workers. Last year, the industry brought a little over 70
million leva in concession royalties for the Exchequer, and the
amount generated in the first half of this year was 66 million
leva, Petkova said. In the whole of this year, royalties will
total 80 million leva, she added.

The Strategy defines three main pillars for the sustainable
development of the mining sector: economic, environmental, and
social, the Energy Minister went on to say. This implies that
the industry will develop by adhering to economic principles,
promoting green practices to minimize the adverse impact of
mining on the environment, and encouraging corporate social
responsibility, which is already a fact in a number of mining
companies. Originally drawn up in 2012, the Strategy has been
updated with new statistical information.