The Chair of the Bulgarian Chamber of Mining and Geology (BCMG), Lachezar Tsotsorkov, said Wednesday Bulgaria's mining sector was expecting a 30%-50% decline in its output because of the effects of the global financial crisis, as quoted by the Pari Daily.

According to Tsotsorkov, the actual downturn in the Bulgarian mining industry will become move evident in the second quarter of 2009. The decline will likely lead to the dismissal of mining workers and workers from related industries.

The BCMG Chair pointed out that about 30 000 persons were employed in the Bulgarian mining sector, whose production is worth about BGN 2,5 B, or about 5% of the country's GDP. He stressed that one job in the mining sector leads to the creation of three or four jobs in other sectors of the economy.

BCMG data shows that Bulgaria's mining company saw their revenue from ore extraction cut in half last year because the international market prices of metals declined by 50%-80%. At the same time, the salaries in the mining sector have doubled in the recent years, and the prices of electricity and related materials have grown tremendously.

The Chamber has put forth several anti-crisis measures for the sector including a two-year exemption for all mining companies from paying the state the respective part of the concession fees, and from paying the bank guarantees for their concession contracts.

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