Serbia could exploit its large lithium deposit as early as 2028, its president said in an interview with the Financial Times on Sunday, which he believes could be “a real revolution” for the country and the region. “If we keep all our promises, the mine could open in 2028”said Aleksandar Vucic, adding that the Jadar deposit, operated by Rio Tinto, could produce up to 58,000 tonnes of lithium per year, “enough for 17% of electric vehicle production in Europe, or around 1.1 million cars”.
The Jadar lithium reserves in western Serbia were discovered in 2004, and are believed to be among the largest on the continent. But the Serbian government put an end to the mining project in winter 2022 after weeks of protests. Opponents accused Rio Tinto and Aleksandar Vucic of acting in complete secrecy and refusing to publish environmental impact reports, and feared the region would be devastated by metal mining. But the mining giant published its first environmental impact studies this week, ensuring that everything would be done to limit as much as possible the impact of the underground mine and waste processing on the environment.
Read alsoLithium mine in Serbia: Rio Tinto publishes first impact studies
Aleksandar Vucic also mentioned in his interview with the Financial Times of “new guarantees” of Rio Tinto, as well as the European Union, on compliance with environmental standards. In September 2023, Serbia signed a letter of intent with the European Commission relating to the strategic partnership in the field of batteries and raw materials, including lithium, an essential material in particular for the manufacture of electric car batteries.
