The decision came one week after Albanian Chrome had its mining licence partially suspended and when 16 miners went on a hunger strike in an underground gallery– demanding a 20 percent wage increase
TIRANA, July 27 – Austrian-owned Albanian Chrome company which operates the Bulqiza mine has been fined Lek 56 million (Euro 400,000, USD 560,000) for failing to make compulsory investments under the concession contract it has with the Albanian government. The decision announced on Wednesday by Economy and Energy Ministry came one week after Albanian Chrome, the Albanian arm of Austrian miner DCM DECOmetal had its mining licence partially suspended and when 16 miners have gone on a hunger strike in an underground gallery demanding a 20 percent wage increase and safer working conditions. “Controls carried out by the National Natural Resources Agency show that Albanian Chrome invested USD 3.09 million during the 2007-2008 period in the Bulqiza chromium mine at a time when investments should have been at USD 3.4 million under the contract signed with the Ministry of Trade and Energy,” said the ministry in a statement. Last week, the ministry partially suspended Albanian Chrome’s licence for Zone D after a working group identified problems on working conditions risking employees’ safety and health and damaging the environment. The hunger strike came after a three-week protest of some 700 miners demanding pay rises. The Bulqiza mine produces 70,000 tonnes of chrome ore per year, and the company has become an integrated producer of 3,000 tonnes of ferrochrome per month since it took full control of the Bulqiza concession in 2007. It is Albania’s biggest employer. Since 2007, when Albanian Chrome owned by Austria’s DCM DECOmetall GmbH signed a concession agreement with the Albanian government, it has invested 42 million euros in the Bulqiza mine and the ferro-chrome plant.
