Serbia Zijin Copper Advances Green Mining with Large-scale Tailings Dam Revegetation Program

Since Zijin Mining’s acquisition, its copper mining subsidiary, Serbia Zijin Copper, has conducted extensive green restoration at the Veliki Krivelj Copper Mine’s tailings storage facilities. To date, the company has revegetated an area of 3.97 million square meters, significantly improving the environment and earning recognition from both the Serbian government and local communities.

Once barren, dust-prone areas with exposed yellowish earth, the tailings facilities have now been transformed into verdant landscapes covered with lush grass that sways in the wind. This remarkable change from “yellow sand” to “green grass” stands as a testament to Zijin’s commitment to environmental stewardship.

Veliki Krivelj Copper Mine’s No.1 tailings dam before revegetation

Veliki Krivelj Copper Mine’s No.1 tailings dam after revegetation

Restoration at Slopes and Surfaces

Serbia Zijin Copper took a phased, science-based approach to the ecological restoration of the mine’s tailings dams. The initial phase focused on rehabilitating the environmentally fragile areas on the slopes of the dams. The company revegetated three slopes, covering a total area of 1.28 million square meters. Drought-resistant, soil-stabilizing plants such as alfalfa and ryegrass were planted, and ecological grids were laid to effectively control soil erosion and dust. According to 2023 monitoring data from local environmental authorities, the soil erosion modulus in these areas dropped by 62%, and dust levels now meet EU industrial emission standards.

Building on this success, the company has recently launched a large-scale greening project on the flat surfaces of the mine’s No.1 tailings dam, covering approximately 138,000 square meters. This area, with its loose soil structure and low bearing capacity, was rehabilitated using an innovative two-step method. Temporary access roads were first built using aggregate made from waste slag, ensuring safe passage for heavy machinery. Following this, soil amendments were applied to the surfaces to provide suitable conditions for plant growth. The first batch of ryegrass seeds has been sown in the area, resulting in an 85% vegetation coverage.

From “Sandy Flat” to “Green Grassland”

Milan Petrović, a resident of Veliki Krivelj village near the mine, commented, “Now that the tailings facilities have been grassed, dust has disappeared. In the summer, we can see small animals like wild ducks and other water birds in the area.”

This transformation is attributed to the company’s continued environmental investment. To date, it has invested more than US$37.22 million in tailings dam management and revegetation.

After visiting the company’s Veliki Krivelj and Novo Cerovo mines, and the revegetated No.1 and No.2 tailings dams, and its revamped smelter, Aleksandar Dujanović, State Secretary at the Ministry of Environmental Protection, said: “Everything takes time, and you have made great changes in a short period. The environment here is a completely different picture from what I remember before Zijin’s arrival. As people would say, it's as different as ‘night and day.’ Vast areas have been re-cultivated. And the reconstructed smelter complex shows how much energy and resources the company is investing in environmental protection.”

Satellite remote sensing data on vegetation coverage in the area shows a significant increase from under 5% in 2019 to 78% today. The area’s biodiversity index has also tripled, marking the gradual restoration of the ecosystem’s self-sustaining capabilities.

Serbia Zijin Copper plans to continue its restoration efforts at the mine’s tailings dams in 2026, incorporating drone inspection technology to establish an integrated “sky-ground” environmental management framework. This will further improve conditions at the mine, contributing to a more livable environment for residents in its surrounding communities.