Active underground copper-gold mine in the Panagyurishte district, operated by Dundee Precious Metals as one of the largest and most productive gold-copper mines in Europe.
The Chelopech Mine is an underground copper-gold mine located approximately 75 kilometres east of Sofia in the Panagyurishte metallogenic district of Sofia Province, Bulgaria. Mining began at the site in 1954 under state ownership, with concentrates transported to the Pirdop copper smelter during the operational period to 1990. The mine was placed on care and maintenance in 1992, after which Irish company Navan Resources became the owner in 1993 and operated it under a concession agreement granted by the Bulgarian state in 1999.
Canadian company Dundee Precious Metals (DPM) acquired the mine from Navan Mining in September 2003 and has progressively transformed it into a modern high-output operation. A major expansion approved in December 2005 raised production capacity to two million tonnes per year. The ore body is a high-sulphidation epithermal copper-gold deposit formed during the Late Cretaceous.
As of 2026 the mine's life has been extended to 2036 based on updated mineral reserve estimates of 23.2 million tonnes.
The Chelopech deposit is a high-sulphidation epithermal copper-gold system within the Panagyurishte metallogenic district of the Srednogorie zone in central Bulgaria, genetically related to a Late Cretaceous dioritic intrusive system dated to approximately 91.9 million years ago. The mineralisation occurs as quartz-sulphide and sulphosalt-rich replacement zones surrounded by halos of silica and advanced argillic alteration. Gold occurs as native metal forming gold-silver alloys, as well as fine-grained inclusions in sulphosalts and pyrite.
Copper minerals include chalcopyrite (approximately 50%), arsenides and sulfosalts (approximately 45%), and minor oxides. State-operated mining began in 1954. Production of copper and gold concentrates commenced and ore was transported to the Pirdop smelter to the east of Chelopech.
Throughput under state ownership grew rapidly; production reached 100,000 tonnes per year by 1971 and quadrupled to 512,000 tonnes per year by 1976. Since mining started in 1954 the mine had produced around 19.8 million tonnes of ore at just over 1.2 per cent copper by the time of early independent-era reporting. Concentrates produced under state ownership were bulk copper-gold and pyrite concentrates.
Following the collapse of communist-era state industry, production ceased in 1990 and the mine was placed on care and maintenance in 1992. In 1993 Irish company Navan Resources became owner and operator. The Bulgarian state granted a 30-year concession agreement in 1999.
Navan operated the mine through to 2002. Dundee Precious Metals of Canada fully acquired the mine from Navan Mining in September 2003. In December 2005, DPM's board of directors approved an investment of USD 150 million to expand the mine based on a Definitive Feasibility Study.
The expansion raised production capacity to two million tonnes of ore per year, included installation of an underground crushing and conveying system, and modernised the existing flotation concentrator. From 2005 the original sublevel caving mining method was phased out and replaced by sublevel long-hole open stoping with paste fill, which became the standard method. The expansion was completed in the fourth quarter of 2011, with the underground crusher and conveyor commissioned in 2012.
The mine produces two concentrate products: a copper-gold concentrate shipped to DPM's Tsumeb smelter in Namibia and to smelters in China, and a pyrite-gold concentrate. In 2019 the mine produced 2.2 million tonnes of copper ore, approximately 3,730 kilograms of gold in copper-gold concentrate, and 16,900 tonnes of copper in copper concentrate. DPM has a multi-decade record of adding mineral reserves to offset depletion.
In March 2023 an updated Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve Estimate was announced, confirming proven and probable reserves of 1.6 million ounces of gold and 312 million pounds of copper, and extending the mine life to 2031. In February 2026 the life of mine was further extended to 2036 following a new mineral reserve estimate of 23.2 million tonnes, a 42 per cent net increase on the prior estimate. The mine is recognised as a leader in digital innovation, with full underground Wi-Fi coverage at 600 metres below ground, and commissioned the industry's first deep-learning autonomous drone operating in an underground environment in 2019.
The mining licence covers 266 hectares, including the mine workings and their immediate surroundings. DPM fully owns the land and operates under the 1999 concession.