The German company BBM Group claims that it has mineral reserves in Bosnia and Herzegovina whose total market value exceeds 25 billion euros, but at the same time warns of serious administrative obstructions that slow down the implementation of projects.
It is about one of the largest foreign investors in the mining sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which through the company BBM-VAREŠ doo develops projects of exploration and exploitation of mineral raw materials, reports Biznisinfo.
According to the company, proven geological reserves include more than 236 million tons of eruptive stone (spilite) and 518 million tons of limestone, which ranks them among the largest resources of this type in Southeast Europe.
In addition, significant metal potentials such as aluminum, manganese, lead and zinc have been identified in the concession area in Vareš, while gold reserves have already been confirmed in the area of Fojnica. The company has also completed coal exploration in the Maglaj area and expects to receive a concession for exploitation.
In addition to all of the above, BBM Grupacija, through its companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also has shares in other mining companies that have concession rights for the exploration and exploitation of magnesite.
The market value of these reserves, as they claim, is over 25 billion euros.
The company points out that it also has a processing capacity of more than 4.9 million tons per year, and that its stone has been used in numerous infrastructure projects in the region – including highways, tunnels and railway lines in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia and Montenegro.
Despite significant resources and investments, the BBM Group warns of “problems and obstructions of administration” encountered in projects of exploration and exploitation of mineral raw materials.
These problems were also discussed during the visit of the German ambassador to BiH, Alfredo Grannas, who visited the headquarters and production facilities of the company in Vares, together with representatives of the economic department of the embassy.
The representatives of the company informed the ambassador about the potential of the projects, but also about the challenges they face as a foreign investor in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Ambassador Grannas emphasized his full support for the BBM Group’s investments in Bosnia and Herzegovina and stressed that in the future he will monitor these projects more intensively and ask the relevant institutions to implement them as soon as possible within the framework of legal regulations.
He recalled the Law on the Policy of Foreign Direct Investments in BiH, the Law on Foreign Investments of the FBiH and especially the Interstate Agreement between FR Germany and Bosnia and Herzegovina on the promotion and protection of investments from 2003.
The company thanked for the support, emphasizing that Bosnia and Herzegovina has a huge mining potential that can have a strong impact on the development of industry and economy.
BBM Group has been operating in Bosnia and Herzegovina since 1992, while it has owned the concession rights in Vares since the end of the 90s and the beginning of the 2000s.
All of the above, along with huge estimated reserves, ranks this group among the most significant mining investors in BiH with foreign capital.
