Municipality of Makedonska Kamenica
Eastern mining municipality built around SASA, North Macedonia's largest lead-zinc mine employing 1,200 and investing $52 million since 2017.
Makedonska Kamenica exists because lead and zinc concentrated in sufficient quantities to justify industrial extraction. This municipality of 6,439 residents in eastern North Macedonia, 10 kilometers from the Bulgarian border, hosts the SASA mine—the country's largest lead-zinc operation, employing 1,200 workers and providing social security for a substantial portion of local families.
The formation era saw exploration between 1954 and 1965 identify the SASA deposit within the Serbo-Macedonian Massif, a geological belt stretching from Serbia through Bulgaria to Greece and Turkey. Trial mining commenced in 1965; commercial production began in 1966 under state ownership. The 2002 closure due to funding shortfalls led to acquisition by Solway Investments and operations resumption in 2006. Central Asia Metals (CAML) acquired full ownership in 2017.
Today SASA operates as an underground mine producing approximately 800,000 tonnes of ore annually from three orebodies: Svinja Reka, Kozja Reka, and Golema Reka. The mine represents North Macedonia's most significant extractive industry asset, with over $52 million invested since CAML's entry in sustainable development initiatives. The municipality of 190 square kilometers depends on mining employment to an extent unusual even in mineral-rich eastern Macedonia.
By 2026, Makedonska Kamenica's trajectory is inextricably linked to SASA's operational continuity and commodity prices. The $52 million investment demonstrates commitment to sustained production, but lead-zinc market volatility and eventual reserve depletion require economic diversification planning that the municipality has yet to develop comprehensively.