The heavy price of copper in Serbia's mining town of Bor
In short: In the shadow of one of Europe's largest copper mines, a community faces a grim trade-off. While the industry fuels the economy, residents report a harrowing reality of heavy metal contamination, rising cancer rates, and a life expectancy that falls well below national averages.
The town of Bor in eastern Serbia has been a mining hub since 1904, when French operations first began. Today, the site hosts one of the largest copper mines in Europe. Since 2018, the mine has been majority-owned by a Chinese corporation. This industrial backbone provides the town's livelihood, but it has also created a concentrated zone of environmental and public health crises. The city sits on a strategic road and railroad connecting Belgrade to Niš and Zaječar. It serves as a vital industrial center for the landlocked nation.
Environmental engineer Snezana Serbula has documented the severe impact of heavy metal emissions on the local environment and human health. Residents in Bor report high levels of pollution and a high incidence of cancer. These concerns are underscored by a notably low life expectancy in the area compared to the broader Serbian population. Workers have also expressed that they were not adequately informed about the potential long-term consequences of their labor. Serbula has dedicated her entire professional career to investigating these specific impacts. Her numerous scientific studies highlight the dangers of heavy metal emissions.
The human cost extends beyond health to the very existence of local communities. In the village of Krivelj, the Vlach ethnic minority faces the potential loss of their ancestral homes to make way for mine expansion. This has sparked a growing movement for social change, led by student activists Lazar Milutinovic and Marko Andrejevic. They are campaigning for stricter environmental regulations and greater transparency from the authorities and the mining company to protect the people living in the mine's shadow. Many neighbors of Jasna Tomic have already fled the area. This displacement threatens the centuries-old presence of the Vlach people.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: In the shadow of copper - The price of mining in Serbia | DW Documentary
- Also: Bor | Mining, Copper & Industry | Britannica
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