Coal production has been exploited on Mount Majevica since 1899. Within a century, the Majevicans developed the initial small dig into today’s giant surface mine producing 6,000 tonnes of coal per day and the giant coal-fired power plant “Termoelektrana Ugljevik” (Ugljevik Power Plant), supplying the Republic with 300 megawatts of electricity. Preparations are underway for the construction of another power-plant of 600 MW. Exploration indicates huge reserves of quality coal, with seams stretching in every direction, even reaching Zvornik on the Drina river. The administrative center of the Municipality was the village of Zabrdje, to be transferred to the mining community of Ugljevik (now named Stari Ugljevik (Old Ugljevik)) in 1941, after Zabrdje was burned by Ustaše. The present-day Ugljevik began to be built in 1980 in the valley of Janja river (one of the Drina’s tributaries) between Zabrdje, Stari Ugljevik and Bogutovo Selo, in answer to the need for increasing the surface mining operations and building the power-plant. The whole of the old Ugljevik was then moved to this new site.

At least ten archaeological archaeological locations have been found in the area. These includes five locations with groupings of medieval stone sarcophagi, called stecci in Serbian, and three dating from the Roman period. Though research into Neolithic sites in the Municipality is lacking, near-by areas have Neolithic archaeological sites, allowing pòstulation that there may have been ancient sites present. The village of Tutnjevac contains the remains of a Roman villa.

Medieval graveyards in Ugljevik village of Bogutovo Selo.

The first population census of the region showed five settlements with a total of 55 houses, which date from prior to arrival of Osmanli Turks in the 15th century. During troubled times the population would leave these parts with most of the succeeding population—the forbears of the present Majevicans—coming from Eastern and ‘Old’ Herzegovina in the 19th century.

The region of Ugljevik has contributed to all the wars fought in which the Serbs have taken part. There is a large monument in the centre of Ugljevik, at the administrative building of the Termoelektrana Ugljevik Power Plant. A school now bears the name of the first commander of the Majevica Brigade colonel Milan Jovic, who died in the Patriotic War.

During the past hundred years, the pace and extend of development of the Ugljevik region has been determined by coal production. With the increased need for coal, coal exploitation began in 1899, and a narrow gauge railway was built from Raca, on the Sava river, to the Ugljevik coal-mine via Bijeljina in 1919. Subsequently this railway was connected to one of Ugljevik’s communities, Mezgraja, and later was upgraded to standard gauge. This was the last standard gauge railway in the Europe before it was closed in 1982.

The coal from Bogutovo Selo surface mine has a calorific value of 2,550 kcal/kg (10.68 MJ/kg), and it is estimated that the reserves are sufficient to satisfy the needs of four 300 megawatt coal-fired power plants.

It is thanks to these coal giants that almost all of Ugljevik’s corporations developed.

After the Bosnian War Ugljevik got on significant. For the first time after the World War II, and their meeting on river Elbe, Russian (Soviet) Army and Western Allies, worked together in mission, as Implementation Force (IFOR) and later Stabilization forces (SFOR). Headquarters of Russian Peacekeeping Mission in Bosnia was in Ugljevik. Americans also were in Ugljevik. River Janja separated these two armies. IFOR info magazine “Talon” wrote in one of its issues “Cold War melted on the Balkan sun”.