UN Radio

Opening of Artana Mine

By Birol Urcan

Since then political problems and lack of funds has meant that the Kosovar mines were not exploited properly.

Recently this situation is changing for the better. Artana Mine was one of the mines which was not working, and it started to work few weeks ago.

Hello and welcome this is UNMIK On air.

Miners of Artana 15 years ago were left jobless

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Miners chat

And now, they are back to work.

Natural sound –puncture machine

Bajram Bujupi is one of the 120 Miners working on this mine

He and his colleagues now walk everyday 4 kilometers in and out of the sixths level of Artana mine where they dig around 100 tons of minerals a day

They’re salary is approximately 120 euros for a month. But regardless the low salary Bajram says that they are happy to be back.

“We thought that we will never be back in our jobs again but now the time has come to be back and we feel very happy, because in the 90 s when we got fired we lost all our hope for employment we thought that we will never be back “

The products that come out of Artana mine are zinc, lead, gold and silver.

According to the Engineers, 60 percent of the profit of the mine comes from gold and silver.

The management says that the revitalization of the Artana and Kishnica mine complex started in the year 2003 and the total cost for the revitalization of the mine was 3 million euro

Natural Sound -the chat

Hysen Vrajolli is the Manager of the Artana and Kishnica mine complex. To him this mine has a very bright future.

“Artana mine has 6.7 million tones of verified mineral reserves,this amount is more than enough for the next 30 years”

Artana Mine is a part of the world famous Trepqa complex that contains four more mines.

And Charles Carron-Brown is the General Manager of this complex.

For the local Media the opening of the artana mine has com very late, however …

The work commenced in 1999 when Mr. Vrajolli first started with a crew of people working for no pay, funding the timber with their own pockets, just out of their own dedication to get the mine reopened.

We didn’t get any real money until 2003 and that’s when the program really started, we are actually talking about two year period to reopen the mine rather than 5 years as it appears to be.

Officials say that this is just the beginning of the real development on the mining Sector, of Kosovo.

To them Kosovos’ future economic development lays underground.

This was all for today from UNMIK on air, thank you for listening and have a good day.