The mining industry collapsed in Serbia since the 1990s. The most symptomatic example of this in the Pek valley is the village of Blagojev Kamen. The settlement encompasses the former gold mine of the same name. The mine became operational in 1902. In 1953, Blagojev Kamen had a population of 1,258, elementary school, cultural institutions, cinema, etc. The mine was closed in 1961 and the population tumbled down to 26 in 2011. When the reporters visited the place in 2019, only 10 people were in the village which was completely desolated and ruined. Though gold was excavated and acquired as byproduct on numerous locations throughout Serbia, Blagojev Kamen was the only proper gold mine in Serbia, where only gold was mined. An attempt to revive the production in the mid-1990s, ended in 2001 when the mine was again closed.