March 17 (SeeNews) - Zijin Bor Copper, the Serbian unit of China's Zijin Mining Group, plans to open a mine in the Cukaru Peki Upper Zone of Serbia's Timok copper-gold project this summer, the Serbian energy ministry said.

Zijin Bor Copper is investing $474 million (398 million euro) in the development of the mine, which will have a capacity to produce 3.3 million tonnes of ore annually, the energy ministry quoted company director Jian Ximing as saying in a press release on Tuesday.

The Timok copper and gold project located in eastern Serbia consists of the Cukaru Peki Upper Zone and Lower Zone. Rakita Exploration, a subsidiary of Zijin Mining Group, owns 100% of the Cukaru Peki Lower Zone.

The Chinese group injected $350 million in the capital of Serbian copper mining and smelting company RTB Bor in December 2018, acquiring majority ownership, and renamed it to Zijin Bor Copper.

($ = 0.840565 euro)