Montenegro’s Novi Boksiti plans to begin exporting bauxite to China and is preparing to start underground production at three deposits near Nikšić, as the miner seeks to expand output and diversify beyond its existing regional customer base.
The company currently produces around 20,000-25,000 tonnes of bauxite a month from open-pit operations and is targeting monthly production of about 30,000 tonnes, Chief Executive Željko Markuš said.
Most of the company’s current bauxite production is supplied to Nova Alumina in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the industrial group formerly associated with the Birač alumina complex.
Markuš said Novi Boksiti did not face constraints in selling its production and could find buyers even if monthly output increased to 50,000 tonnes.
The company is now preparing to add China to its export markets, a move that would broaden its customer base beyond the Western Balkans and reduce dependence on individual buyers.
Exports to China would mark a significant step for Montenegro’s revived bauxite industry, linking production from the Nikšić mining basin directly with the world’s largest aluminium-producing economy.
China dominates global primary aluminium production and is consequently a major consumer of bauxite and alumina raw materials. For a relatively small producer such as Novi Boksiti, however, the commercial attractiveness of the Chinese market will depend not only on ore quality and pricing but also on transport and logistics costs over much longer distances than those associated with regional customers.
Novi Boksiti is simultaneously moving towards underground mining, potentially opening a new phase in the exploitation of Montenegro’s red bauxite reserves.
The company holds a concession covering detailed geological exploration and potential exploitation of red bauxite deposits in Block 4 in the Nikšić municipality.
Exploration drilling began in November 2024, and more than 13,000 metres of drilling has been completed so far as the company seeks to define the size and characteristics of the deposits.
Markuš said exploration had identified two smaller deposits and one more significant deposit within the concession area.
Preparations for underground extraction are proceeding in parallel with exploration work, with the company expecting underground production could begin in roughly six months, putting a potential start in early 2027.
The move underground represents a more significant technical and financial step than expanding existing surface extraction.
Underground mining typically requires greater investment in mine development, ventilation, drainage, ground support, safety systems and specialised equipment, but it can also provide access to deposits that cannot be economically or environmentally exploited through surface operations.
For Novi Boksiti, successful development of the three deposits could increase the production base available for both regional customers and new export markets.
The company was established in 2023 and secured the Block 4 concession following a government tender in 2024. Montenegro’s government and Novi Boksiti signed the concession agreement for detailed geological exploration and exploitation of potential red bauxite deposits in October that year.
Initial plans involved investment in drilling, exploration equipment and preparation of trial mining areas before full commercial exploitation.
The company has since expanded rapidly.
Markuš said Novi Boksiti now employs close to 100 people, with additional recruitment expected as mining operations grow.
That expansion is significant for Nikšić, where bauxite mining was historically one of the foundations of the industrial economy.
The original Bauxite Mines began operating in 1948 and for decades supplied the aluminium industry while employing as many as 1,500 workers at its peak.
The decline of the former industrial system during Montenegro’s economic transition sharply reduced mining employment and weakened one of Nikšić’s traditional industrial sectors.
The emergence of Novi Boksiti therefore represents an attempt to rebuild commercial mining around mineral reserves that remain substantial despite the decline of the former state-owned industry.
The broader environment for Montenegro’s mining sector remains challenging.
Official data have shown significant fluctuations in mineral production, including a sharp decline in red bauxite output in 2025. The government has meanwhile been seeking to revive investment in several mineral resources, including bauxite, lead and zinc, construction materials and other deposits.
For Novi Boksiti, increasing monthly output from the present 20,000-25,000 tonnes towards 30,000 tonnes would translate into annualised production of roughly 360,000 tonnes if that rate were sustained throughout a full year.
A production level of 50,000 tonnes a month, which management says could still be absorbed by foreign customers, would imply an annualised rate of about 600,000 tonnes.
Reaching those volumes would depend on mine development, permitting, equipment availability and the results of continuing geological exploration.
The planned move into China could also change the economics of the operation.
Regional sales to alumina producers such as Nova Alumina benefit from comparatively short transport routes, while shipments to China require a more complex export chain involving inland transport and seaborne freight.
The commercial case will therefore depend on the delivered price of Montenegrin bauxite relative to competing supplies from much larger producers.
But access to an additional market gives Novi Boksiti greater flexibility as production expands.
It could also reduce exposure to fluctuations in demand from a single regional alumina producer, an important consideration for a mine planning to increase both surface and underground output.
The next phase will centre on proving that the deposits identified through the company’s 13,000 metres of exploration drilling can support commercially viable underground extraction.
If underground production begins in early 2027 as planned and Chinese exports are established, Novi Boksiti would move from a primarily regional open-pit producer towards a more diversified mining operation serving both European and Asian customers.
For Montenegro, the development could help restore part of a mining industry that once played a much larger role in the economy of Nikšić, while testing whether the country’s substantial red bauxite resources can support a new generation of commercially competitive production.
