Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic hinted at the possible unfreezing of the Jadar project, Europe's largest future lithium mine, as the country’s parliament is preparing to hold debate on this topic.
Vucic told that "new guarantees" from Rio Tinto, the project’s developer, and the European Union are enough to dispel Serbia’s doubts over necessary environmental standards implemented at Jadar. The environmental concerns of Serbian citizens was the reason for revoking the Jadar’s development license amid large-scale protests.
After president’s remarks, the speaker of the Serbian parliament and former prime minister Ana Brnabic called for a "responsible and serious" debate on the project in the national assembly.
"We will defend the interests of Serbia in every way, both economic and in terms of wealth and higher wages, pensions and everything that the project can bring to Serbia," she said in a TV broadcast cited by Reuters.
If completed, the Jadar project could supply 90% of Europe's current lithium needs and help to make Rio Tinto a leading lithium producer. Last week the company published environmental studies which showed that its Serbia lithium project would be safe for the environment.
"We believe the Jadar Project has the potential to be a world-class asset that could act as a catalyst for developing an EV (electric vehicle) value chain in Serbia", Rio Tinto said in a statement emailed to Reuters.
However, Serbian Green-Left Front party would oppose the project, its leader Radomir Lazovic said.
"We are ready to fight this idea through actions, protests, all legal avenues and by seeking international support."
Theodor Lisovoy, Editor in Chief, Rough&Polished
