Prishtina, 29 May 2015 – Deputy Minister of Economic Development Besa Zogaj-Gashi received today in a meeting with the Secretary General of the European Geological Service, Luca Demicheli, accompanied by Manager Celine Andrien, Director of the Geological Service of Croatia, Josip Halamic, Director of the Geological Service of Albania, Viktor Doda, and Director of the Maritime Geology Department of the Geological Service of Albania, Arben Panbuku.

Deputy Minister Gashi said that the membership of the Kosovo Geological Service in international institutions, such as the European Geological Service, opens way for European perspectives in the development of projects with regional influence and specific interest for Kosovo.

Gashi thanked the guests for their support to the Kosovo Geological Service’s affiliation with European institutions, adding that the territory of Republic of Kosovo is characterized with a complex geological construct, whereas its mineral assets make Kosovo a country with great potential for mineral processing and geology development.

“Kosovo is rich in minerals, and home to important energy, metallic and non-metallic mineral sources. Kosovo territory holds vast lignite reserves, which amount to 14 billion tons,” said Deputy Minister Gashi.

She added that the Kosovo Geological Service, since its establishment as an independent institution, strengthened significantly the national institutional framework, from the perspective of improved research and exploration activities, providing the country with exact data on minerals in Kosovo.

For his part, Luca Demicheli welcomed the cooperation geared towards capacity enhancement and conduct of common explorations, as well as use of common laboratories with the Geological Service, with special emphasis on participation in geological exploration on identification of 20 critical minerals which impact technological development.

“If it is proven that Kosovo possesses such minerals, it would be considered a strategic country for the development of respective technology industries in Europe,” said Demicheli.
The delegation, accompanied by Deputy Minister Gashi, visited the National Museum of Crystals and Minerals “Trepça” in Mitrovica.