Rio Tinto said it is a world-class project.
According to international media reports, Serbia is preparing to give the green light to Jadar, which would be the largest lithium mine in Europe.
As reported by the Financial Times, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is preparing to give the green light to Rio Tinto. This happens two years after Belgrade canceled the project.
Vucic told the newspaper that it appeared “new assurances” from the global mining giant and the European Union would address Serbia’s concerns about whether necessary environmental standards would be met at the Jadar site in the west of the country.
Rio Tinto said in a statement emailed to Reuters: “We believe the Jadar project has the potential to be a world-class asset. “It could act as a catalyst for the development of an electric vehicle (EV) value chain in Serbia.”
Considered a critical material by the EU and the United States, lithium is used in batteries for electric vehicles and mobile devices.
Jadar mine in operation
“If we comply with everything, (the mine) could be open in 2028,” Vucic told the Financial Times.
He added that the mine was projected to produce 58,000 tons of lithium per year. This would be “sufficient for 17% of electric vehicle production in Europe. approximately 1.1 million cars.”
In 2022, Belgrade revoked licenses for Rio’s $2.4 billion Jadar project following massive environmental protests. If completed, the project could meet 90% of Europe’s current lithium needs and help make the company a leading lithium producer.
In 2021 and 2022, Serbian environmentalists collected 30,000 signatures on a petition demanding that parliament enact legislation to stop lithium exploration in the country.
