DODIK: TWO-YEAR OUTLOOK FOR ORE EXTRACTION, FOCUS ON SECURING FUTURE FOR WORKERS

BANJA LUKA, MARCH 28 /SRNA/ – SNSD leader Milorad Dodik said that ore exploitation at the "Nova Ljubija" mine could continue for about two more years if the Zenica Steelworks remained operational, stressing that new jobs must be secured for employees in the meantime.

“We need to determine an alternative, above all to provide jobs for the people. Together with the owners, where the state holds a 49 percent stake, we are considering whether, based on existing energy facilities and other resources, we could develop an industrial zone in the future. We will see, it is not only a matter of our views, but also of what is feasible,” Dodik told reporters. He pointed out that when the ore deposit was discovered, it was known that resources were limited and sufficient for only about two more years of exploitation. “We now need to resolve the issue of workers' status so they are not left in uncertainty. What we agreed last night is aimed precisely at that. These are the workers' demands, and we believe they are justified and should be addressed in that way,” Dodik stated. He also noted that a major issue is the buyer of the ore, as the Ljubija mine was originally designed to supply the Zenica Steelworks. “Zenica has no ore of its own. It was built so that ore could be extracted from Prijedor and transported to Zenica, where people would be employed. That was a communist practice, and it was aimed at weakening or impoverishing Serb areas such as Prijedor in that way,” Dodik said. Following talks with "Nova Ljubija" workers in Omarska last night, Dodik stated that the miners' strike had ended with a joint agreement.