MINEX Forum

Tag: Timok Magmatic Complex

  • BHP-Backed Mundoro Advances Copper-Gold Exploration Across Five Targets in Serbia’s Timok Magmatic Complex

    BHP-Backed Mundoro Advances Copper-Gold Exploration Across Five Targets in Serbia’s Timok Magmatic Complex

    Canadian explorer Mundoro Capital and mining giant BHP are intensifying exploration across five targets in eastern Serbia’s Timok Magmatic Complex, one of Europe’s most prospective copper-gold belts, with drilling results from the flagship Skorusa project expected to provide a critical indicator of the programme’s potential by the end of summer.

    According to Mundoro’s first quarter 2026 report, exploration activity has focused on new drilling programmes, geophysical surveys and geological data integration across the Skorusa, Oblez, Borsko, Trstenik and South Timok Corridor projects near Bor. BHP is financing the majority of work under a stake acquisition agreement.

    Skorusa is drawing the most attention. Two exploration holes totalling nearly 1,300 metres were completed during spring, with one intersecting a wider zone of advanced argillic alteration than anticipated — a feature that may indicate a preserved hydrothermal system. Laboratory analysis of drill samples is expected in June and geological interpretation should be complete by end of summer.

    At the Borsko project, work to date has defined a large alteration zone measuring approximately 1.6 by 1.5 kilometres, which Mundoro believes could conceal a previously untested copper-gold porphyry system. Additional targeting and exploration preparation are planned. At the South Timok Corridor’s Lipovica area, two holes totalling approximately 1,278 metres have been completed alongside audio-magnetotelluric, gravimetric and passive seismic surveys across several licences. A new stratigraphic hole near Vitanovac is planned for the third quarter.

    Mundoro is also evaluating new prospect areas across the Timok and other igneous belts in Serbia, targeting copper-gold porphyry systems, skarn mineralisation and epithermal deposits.

  • Mundoro Capital Grants BHP Option to Earn 100% Interest in Serbian Copper-Gold Licences

    Mundoro Capital Grants BHP Option to Earn 100% Interest in Serbian Copper-Gold Licences

    Canadian exploration and development company Mundoro Capital Inc. has granted an earn-in option to a subsidiary of BHP Group for seven copper and gold exploration licences within Serbia’s Timok Magmatic Complex, one of the most prolific mineral belts in the Tethyan region.

    Under the agreement, BHP can earn up to 100% ownership of the licences — which span 418 square kilometres — by funding US$35 million (€30 million) in exploration expenditures over ten years, the company announced on Monday.

    BHP will also make annual option payments beginning at $323,000, increasing by 2% annually, and milestone payments of $2 million each for specific resource declarations, up to a total of $10 million, or a single $10 million payment upon exercising the option if no resource is declared.

    Mundoro will initially operate the project, managing exploration activities and earning operating fees. Once BHP invests at least $20 million or completes 40,000 metres of drilling, it may assume operational control. Upon exercising the option, BHP will also start making annual advance royalty payments to Mundoro.

    To date, Mundoro and its partners have invested C$15.4 million ($11 million) into the project, which hosts multiple exploration targets. The most advanced prospects include:

    Skorusa copper-gold porphyry system, with an intercept of 201.2 metres grading 0.11% Cu and 0.11 g/t Au.

    Tilva Rosh prospect, where trenching returned 12 metres at 30.39 g/t Au and 171.27 g/t Ag.

    Other promising targets include Markov Kamen, Orlovo, D-vein, Prekostenski, Zlot 1–3, Bukova, Tilva Mare, Glavica, Bacevica North, Gorunov, Oblez SE, and Branik.

    The Timok Magmatic Complex is home to several major deposits and producing mines, including Cukaru Peki, Bor, Majdanpek, Veliki Krivelj, and Coka Rakita, positioning this partnership to further strengthen BHP’s exploration footprint in Europe’s key copper-gold corridor.

  • Čukaru Peki deposit, Serbia

    Čukaru Peki deposit, Serbia

    On 16 June 2017, MINEX Europe Forum visited the Čukaru Peki deposit managed by Rakita Exploration in Serbia. Zijin Mining secured a 100% interest in the Čukaru Peki Copper-Gold Mine through two transactions in 2018 and 2019.

    Photos>>>

    Date: 16 June 2017

    Location: Eastern Serbia, central Timok Magmatic Complex

    Highlights:

    • Čukaru Peki is a world-class copper-gold mine in Bor, Serbia.
    • Cukaru Peki site was discovered in July 2012 by Rakita, a local company through which the project was managed, headed by the geologist Dejan Kozelj.
      The Čukaru Peki deposit, located in Serbia’s Bor District, is a significant copper-gold deposit within the Timok Magmatic Complex. Discovered in 2012, it consists of the Upper Zone and Lower Zone, with the Upper Zone containing high-grade copper-gold ore. This deposit is considered world-class due to its substantial mineral resources and economic potential.
      The geological setting of Čukaru Peki is characterized by porphyry-type mineralization. Ongoing exploration and development efforts indicate its importance in Serbia’s mining sector, with trials underway to assess its operational viability. This deposit plays a crucial role in Serbia’s mineral resource strategy, contributing significantly to its economic growth and mining industry development. The Cukaru Peki deposit is subdivided into an Upper Zone (“UZ”) of high-sulphidation epithermal mineralization and the underlying Lower Zone (“LZ”) of porphyry type mineralization.
    • The Cukaru Peki UZ Mineral Resource comprises an Indicated Mineral Resource of some 1.7 Mt above a cut-off grade of 0.75% copper, with average grades of 13.5% copper, 10.4 g/t gold and 0.23% arsenic and an Inferred Mineral Resource of some 35.0 Mt above a cut-off grade of 0.75% copper, with average grades of 2.9% copper, 1.7 g/t gold and 0.17% arsenic.
    • Zijin Mining secured a 100% interest in the Čukaru Peki Copper-Gold Mine through two transactions in 2018 and 2019.
    • In addition to Čukaru Peki, Zijin Mining operates another world-class copper asset in Serbia, the Bor Copper Mine. Their combined output was 240,000 tonnes of copper in 2023, making Zijin the second-largest copper miner in Europe.  The two mines in Serbia are undergoing de-bottlenecking and expansion, scheduled for completion by 2025. Once complete, their combined production capacity is expected to reach 300,000 tonnes per annum.