Majdanpek

Мајданпек
Majdanpek

Basic data

State :

Serbia

Okrug :

boron

Coordinates :

44 ° 25 ' N , 21 ° 56' E Coordinates: 44 ° 25 '28 " N , 21 ° 56' 9" E

Residents :

10,071 (2002)

Telephone code :

(+381) 030

Postal code :

19250

License plate :

BO

Structure and administration

Community type:

city

Website :

www.negotin.info

Majdanpek ( Cyrillic : Мајданпек ) is a city and at the same time the administrative seat of the Opština Majdanpek (German municipality Majdanpek) in Okrug Bor (German district Bor) in eastern Serbia .

History and name

The city has been known for a copper mine since the early 17th century. The origin of the name can be traced back to the two words majdan ( Turkish : madän , German: pit, mine) and Pek (after the river Pek that borders the mine). The word pek is derived from the Greek pekos πέκος for "fleece, wool": Sheepskins were previously used to extract gold in rivers (gold leaves easily get caught in the hair of the fur, see golden fleece ).

Throughout the city's history, the mine has been used extensively by many foreign owners ( Czechs , Belgians, and Austrians ).

The city was modernized in the middle of the 20th century as part of the industrial program of the SFR Yugoslavia . At the end of the 20th century, Majdanpek was one of the most developed regions of metallurgy and copper mining in Yugoslavia. However, during the Slobodan Milošević era , there was a sharp decline in industrial production.

Today the city tries to survive by renewing industry. The mines were put up for sale in 2007. In February 2008 the Austrian company A-TEC of the entrepreneur Mirko Kovats submitted an offer to buy the copper mining complex RTB (Rudarsko-topionicarski Kombat “Bor”). The bid for the RTB-Bor copper mining complex was $ 466 million, while another bidder, SMR owned by Russian entrepreneur Oleg Deripaska , offered $ 370 million.