The UK-based Adriatic Metals company has found significant amounts of gold, silver and other precious metals while drilling in the area of Vares, a small town near the capital.

According to The Australian, the company has found 8.6 grams of gold and 332 grams of silver per ton of earth 226 metres underground at a 24 metre-long intersection in the area of Rupice. Other than that, the area was found to be rich in zinc, lead, copper, barite and other precious metals.

The area is since the times of the Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia at the beginning of the past century been known as a place rich in precious metals.

The Zenica-Doboj Canton, which Vares belongs to, has in 2013 allowed Adriatic Metals to drill in the Vares area.

The drilling operation “continues to confirm not just the continuity of the thick and high-grade mineralisation but the spectacular precious metals content not previously assayed in the majority of the historical drilling,” The Australian quoted the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Geraint Harris.