EBRD backs Bulgaria’s copper supply with €55m greener-mining loan

Nearly seven in every ten euros of a new EBRD financing package for Bulgarian copper producer Asarel Medet qualify as green finance. The lender has agreed to provide up to €55 million ($61.6 million) to modernise the company’s mining operations and help cut their emissions, according to Mining Technology. The project links the supply of copper for Europe’s energy transition with efforts to reduce the environmental footprint of producing it.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s loan will support Asarel Medet’s open-pit copper mine in Panagyurishte. Funding will cover sustaining capital expenditure—investment to keep operations running—as well as exploration spending. It will also support renewable energy capacity that allows the company to generate its own power, putting electricity supply alongside mine improvements in the financing plan.

Copper’s green transition starts at the mine

The EBRD says the planned investments are designed to make the mine more efficient and lower greenhouse gas emissions associated with its electricity use. About 68% of the bank’s contribution meets its green-finance criteria. That share puts environmental investment at the centre of a package that also supports the continuing operation and development of the mine.

The financing comes as Bulgaria works to speed up its shift towards a greener economy. Copper has an important role in electrification, renewable energy projects and electric mobility systems. The bank says backing more efficient, lower-carbon copper production is consistent with both Bulgarian and European environmental goals. For Asarel Medet, which supplies copper concentrate to European markets, the project connects its own operational changes with the needs of the industries it serves.

Jacqui Powell, the EBRD’s managing director for the corporate sector, described the project as an example of how focused lending can support the sustainable development of Europe’s critical raw-material supply. She said combining operational improvements with renewable energy would help Asarel Medet strengthen its competitiveness while advancing the green transition.

Targeted financing can help develop Europe’s critical raw-material supply sustainably, Powell said.

Governance commitments accompany the funding

The agreement goes beyond equipment and energy investment. It includes improvements to Asarel Medet’s corporate governance—the policies and procedures used to oversee the business—with stronger compliance arrangements. The company has already been modernising its operations, including work to use resources more efficiently and bring renewable energy into its activities.

Dimitar Tsotsorkov, chairman of Asarel Medet’s supervisory board, welcomed deeper cooperation with the EBRD on an environmental, health and safety, and social action plan aligned with high international standards. He said strong environmental, social and governance performance was essential to the competitiveness of a major copper supplier serving European industry and the energy transition.

Tsotsorkov also acknowledged support from the Bulgarian government and the EBRD as the company continues its modernisation. The bank has invested around €5.2 billion across 324 projects in Bulgaria to date, placing this loan within a much wider record of financing in the country.

The next focus is delivery: the mine upgrades, exploration work, renewable power capacity and governance measures covered by the package. Together, they are intended to improve operating efficiency while reducing electricity-related emissions—the two outcomes at the heart of the bank’s support.