Serbian authorities have reconsidered their approach to the British-Australian mining company Rio Tinto and revoked the license needed to conduct a geological survey of the area around the Jadar River.
Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabičová said on Thursday that the government had heard protests from environmental protesters who did not want Rio Tinto to start mining lithium in the Jadar Valley in the northwest. “All previous decisions and all licenses have been annulled,” Brnabičová told reporters after a meeting of her government. “As for the Jadar project, this is the end,” she added.
At the same time, the Serbian government and the mining company Rio Tinto only signed a memorandum of understanding on this matter last year. In addition, Rio Tinto intended to meet all requirements so that lithium mining had the least impact on nature.
According to Brnabičová, however, Rio Tinto did not provide sufficient information about the project, especially to local politicians and the population. Rio Tinto, on the other hand, claims that he has always acted in accordance with good practice. The nearly $ 2.5 billion project was to make Rio Tinto one of the world’s ten largest lithium miners.
