Business, Local News

All the Project Details: What Lykos Balkan Metals Is Doing in Jezero Area and Its Surroundings

by exporter
October 28, 2022
12:52 pm

The company Lykos Balkan Metals, which deals with geological exploration of base and precious metals in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as the owner of the company SNK Metali d.o.o. Bijeljina, is carrying out a geological exploration project in the area of Sinjakovo and Jezero.

In this regard, we want to inform the public about all aspects of our work in this area, answer all potential dilemmas and questions, and encourage interest in geological exploration as the only and best way to find out what we have. This time we are particularly focusing on information about activities in the area of the municipalities of Mrkonjić Grad, Jezero and Šipovo.

Why geological exploration?

Based on historical petrographic analyses, we believe that Sinjakovo has significant potential for the discovery of economically profitable mineral reserves of copper, barite, lead, zinc, silver, and possibly gold and cobalt. Geological exploration is nothing new, it has been carried out for centuries because all countries want to know what their geological potential is. Without these explorations, we cannot talk about scientifically established results, and historical sources so far only confirm to some extent that there are possibly economically profitable amounts of mineral wealth in numerous locations throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina. Today, modern technologies and a modern approach to geological exploration have enabled us not to rely on assumptions, but to have the opportunity to determine the true factual situation.

As an investment company that operates on the Australian Securities Exchange which provided 12 million Australian dollars for geological research projects in the territory of BiH, we perform every segment of our work in accordance with the procedures and standards set by domestic and international institutions, whose controls we are subject to.

Responsible business as a starting point

We are committed to protecting the natural environment and using resources in a sustainable way, and we have exploration permits for the projects we work on. We employ professional teams of geologists with international experience, and by listing on one of the strictest stock exchanges in the world, we have committed ourselves to respecting global business standards, which also relate to ecological sustainability and environmental protection.

We have the approval of the Ministry of Energy and Mining of the Republic of Srpska to carry out detailed geological exploration of copper, iron and related metals in the Sinjakovo exploration area. The same competent authority granted us permission for geological exploration under the project of geochemical, geophysical and geological exploration of lead, zinc, copper, barite and related metals in the Jezero exploration area, Jezero municipality. In addition to obtaining the decision of the competent authority before starting any works, we are obliged to report their start to the local community, which we did this time as well according to the regulations.

If in the course of the works, within the approved exploration area, for the purposes of exploration, excavation, exploratory drilling or road construction, we need to enter private properties, we are obliged to ask for the consent of the owner. We do this by signing an agreement, for which we pay fees to the owners. When it comes to properties that belong to the municipality or the Republika Srpska, then we turn to the competent institution. If, for example, our parcels belong to the Forests of the RS, then we have the approval from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of the RS.

How our work looks in practice

Our work is public and transparent, and we publish the results publicly on the stock exchange. The work of our teams is supervised by institutions that have permits to perform work in the field of environmental protection, as well as audits of environmental impact assessment studies.

Our work takes place in three phases: soil sampling, geophysical surveys and exploratory geological drilling. We are now in the third phase, and the competent institutions have insight into all the results of exploratory drilling that we examine in the laboratory. Geological exploration cannot in any way harm the lives of local people, even when it comes to water and watercourses. Before any works through the well-known Institut za vode d.o.o. Bijeljina, we take water samples from the surrounding watercourses,

and we carry out testing even after our works, so that we can show comparative results, i.e. prove that our works do not destroy local watercourses.

When we talk about the projects in this area, before the works we took five water samples, and at the request of the mayor of the Municipality of Jezero, we also took soil samples in an abandoned building near the Municipality, in order to examine whether this area was polluted during the earlier burning of a large amount of medicines. For the second part of the work, we took samples at the following locations: Čirakovac (Lunch bar) Jošavka, the spring of Joshavka, Bag Jošavka 3, Perućica - stream Alinovac, stream Perućica, Jezero - spring Otomalj, Ćerkazovići - Pliva, Savići - spring Savići, Ćerkazovići - stream Erakovo Brdo and Đumezlije - spring Zekilj.

At the previously held round tables in Jezero, which were also attended by the representatives of our company, some of the questions related to the water used for drilling. This water, as we explained to the present residents and representatives of the institutions, is transported after drilling and disposed of at the designated landfill. This work, in accordance with the contracts we signed, is performed by the cisterns of the Čistoća Commercial Company from Banjaluka, and the technical water from the clarifier is disposed of at the landfill of the Park municipal company from Mrkonjić Grad.

The Mining Institute of Prijedor, which has all licenses in the field of environmental protection, monitors our work from the geological documentation process, through the development of projects, all the way to work in the field of environmental protection and revision of studies on the assessment of the impact of our research on the environment.

Where can lithium be found in Bosnia and Herzegovina?

A topic that often comes up in conversation with geologists is lithium. We give an expert answer on this. The rocks in the area of the municipalities of Mrkonjić Grad, Šipovo and Jezero are considered relatively old. These rocks are carriers of metals (such as copper, lead, zinc, antimony, gold and silver) at the sites where the volcanic rocks were breached 250 million years ago through limestone and shale 300 to 400 million years old. Such rocks are not known as lithium carriers.

Lithium occurs on the territory of Bosnia in relatively younger layers formed 15 million years ago, by consolidation of sediments formed in salt lakes created by the retreat and drying of the former Pannonian Sea. Rocks containing lithium can be found in northeastern Bosnia (around Tuzla, Zvornik and Bijeljina).

Our contribution to the local community

In each of the areas in which we operate, we foster respect for the land and the people who live there. Our business policy is based on cooperation with local communities and improving their quality of life. This is evidenced by the fact that we employ local workforce, support the economy, but also numerous manifestations and events that we attend as donors and friends. In addition, we are working on strengthening academic values and potential because we work closely with the Faculty of Mining in Prijedor, and we recently organized a Career Day for students.

When we have locations to which there are no access roads, we have to build them. Depending on the geography of the terrain, roads cost from one thousand to 100,000 KM. The terrain in Jezero and Mrkonjić Grad is demanding, the local roads are very bad or there are none at all. We planned to invest up to 100,000 KM in total for the construction of roads by the end of the project, and here we have already invested a million KM, and that data best speaks of the state of the local infrastructure, but also of our commitment to this area.

We guarantee that everything will be returned to its original state, so if we damage something, we fix it. Among the many documents that we possess as an investor and with which we guarantee good execution of the work is a guarantee that during the construction of access roads we will take care of the existing infrastructure in the Otomalj, Prisoje, Bag and Kovačevac sections and that after the completion of the works in question, we will return all the buildings to their original state. This guarantee also states that Mrkonjić putevi, as our business partner, will act conscientiously and honestly during the construction of access roads on these sections, in accordance with the rules of the profession and the best interests of the local population, for whom, after the completion of the works, the constructed roads will remain for permanent use.

Open to provide all information about their work

As before, as a company we are open to communication and all public questions. Our works can be visited by anyone who wants to, and for a tour of the field, they can contact us and make an appointment.

The goal of our exploration is to find reserves of a resource and that is what we do. In the form of an elaboration, we submit it to the Ministry, and that body further decides whether it is economically justified and what the next steps will be. The local community plays a crucial role in this process.