Gold mine near Bulgaria's Krumovgrad will close permanently

Gold extraction at the Ada Tepe mine near Bulgaria's town of Krumovgrad has come to an end. The open-pit mine and processing plant, which currently employ 269 people, will be permanently closed.

The closure was planned from the outset of the Ada Tepe project and was scheduled to take place once the economically recoverable ore reserves had been exhausted. The final production blast was carried out in mid-April 2026.

The shutdown will take place in stages, as will the workforce reductions. Considerable work still lies ahead, including technical decommissioning, dismantling, land rehabilitation and long-term environmental monitoring, all of which will require personnel.

Once ore processing ceases, part of the equipment will be dismantled, refurbished and transferred to the Čoka Rakita project in Serbia, where construction is expected to begin in early 2027, according to DPM Metals, the Canadian mining company formerly known as Dundee Precious Metals.

One option for some of the Ada Tepe employees is to transfer to the company's other operation in Bulgaria, DPM Chelopech. However, the two mines are located in different parts of the country, and while Ada Tepe is an open-pit mine, Chelopech is an underground operation.

Employees wishing to pursue other opportunities will also be encouraged to start their own businesses. Nearly 90 local enterprises have already received support through the company's Fund for Micro, Small and Medium-sized Businesses, established with an investment of USD 5 million, Ada Tepe Mine Manager Ivan Ivanov told Radio Kardzhali.

Company officials at DPM Krumovgrad stressed that activity at the site will not end with the closure of the mine. The next phase will focus on restoring the land affected by mining operations. Once the rehabilitation programme is completed, 95% of the mine area will be returned to the Natura 2000 European ecological network.

Edited by Ivo Ivanov
English: R. Petkova