Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said that the outcome of the Kazandol copper mine arbitration does not mean that the mine will now be opened. Macedonia won the case against the investor, Sardich MC, who sought 115 million EUR in damages after the initial license to open the mine was revoked

It’s not true that the outcome means that the mine will now be opened. This is another manipulation by people who don’t mean well to Macedonia and the Macedonian citizens. This is the second arbitration that this Government has won, and we expect at least two more in the coming period. The real question is why did the state lose arbitration cases in the past,while now the outcomes go in favor of the state, the Prime Minister said, adding that the Government changed the legal team involved in these cases.

Several mine developments were cancelled a decade ago due to public pressure, following a round of local referendums, and the Government and the potential investors entered into rounds of arbitration procedures and trials.