Historically, sporadic geological surveys in the 1950s identified borate deposits in the Piskanja area. Systematic exploration began in 1987 during coal investigations, leading to the discovery of significant borate deposits.

The Ibar Mines, located near Baljevac on the Ibar River in the Raška District of Serbia, have historically been significant for domestic borate production. The region includes notable deposits, such as the Pobrđe borate deposit, which is actively exploited. In the 1990s, trial exploitation of borate ore from the Baljevac-Pobrđe mine marked a pivotal development in Serbia's borate industry.

The Pobrđe deposit represents the first borate deposit in Serbia to undergo exploitation.