On Friday, Serbia’s minister of mining and energy, Dubravka Dedovic Negre, announced that a large gold deposit had been discovered in Serbia.

Negre went on to say that initial testing revealed that it may be possible to extract pure gold concentrate with a gold utilization rate of over 93% from the deposit.

She emphasized the immense economic importance of the discovery, particularly for eastern Serbia.

Canadian-based international gold mining company Dundee Precious Metals made the discovery. It operates several projects in Serbia. The firm said the deposit was discovered at the Coka Rakita exploration project in eastern Serbia, and the recent drilling generated, “exceptional results.”

The minister noted that the project is still in the analysis stage, and additional testing will be required to determine the total volume of the deposit.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has noted that his nation has been increasing its gold reserves for the past two years.

Serbia’s gold reserves, at 38.1 tons, make it the leading economy in the Balkans in terms of gold reserves, and 54th overall in the world.