Serbia is poised to grant Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) approval to develop Europe's largest lithium mine. The Jadar project, which was suspended in 2022, could start production by 2028, providing Europe with metal much needed for its electric vehicle (EV) industry.
"New guarantees from Rio Tinto and the European Union seem to address Serbia's environmental concerns regarding the Jadar site in western Serbia," Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said in an interview with the Financial Times.
The Jadar project, discovered by Rio Tinto geologists in 2004 near Loznica, contains a high-grade lithium-boron mineral, adequately named as Jadarite. This underground mine aims to produce 58,000 tons of refined battery-grade lithium carbonate annually, which would be enough to supply 17% of Europe's EV production, approximately 1.1 million cars per year.
Additionally, it will produce 160,000 tons of boric acid and 255,000 tons of sodium sulfate annually, essential for various industrial applications, including renewable energy storage, solar panels, wind turbines, and household products. Serbia's Finance Minister Siniša Mali estimates the project could boost the country's GDP between $10.7 and $12.7 billion annually.
Despite the project's potential, it faced significant opposition from environmental activists who raised alarms about potential water pollution and environmental degradation, citing Serbia's already precarious ecological state. Furthermore, since Jadarite is in a mineral form and not in a liquid form (like brine), the newest solutions, like direct lithium extraction, are not applicable.
In 2022, the Serbian government revoked Rio Tinto's licenses following large-scale protests and a petition to halt the project that collected 30,000 signatures. These protests came during a politically sensitive time for Vučić, facing elections and domestic pressure. However, following recent municipal polls where Vučić's party prevailed, the government seems comfortable reviving the project.
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塞爾維亞準備批准力拓(紐約證券交易所代碼:RIO)開發歐洲最大的鋰礦。Jadar項目於2022年暫停，可能在2028年開始生產，爲歐洲提供其電動汽車（EV）行業急需的金屬。
塞爾維亞總統亞歷山大·武契奇在接受《金融時報》採訪時說：“力拓和歐盟的新擔保似乎解決了塞爾維亞對塞爾維亞西部賈達爾基地的環境擔憂。”
Jadar項目由力拓地質學家於2004年在洛茲尼察附近發現，其中含有一種高品位的鋰硼礦物，被恰當命名爲Jadarite。這座地下礦山的目標是每年生產58,000噸精製電池級碳酸鋰，這足以供應歐洲電動汽車產量的17％，每年約110萬輛汽車。
此外，它每年將生產16萬噸硼酸和25.5萬噸硫酸鈉，這對於各種工業應用至關重要，包括可再生能源存儲、太陽能電池板、風力渦輪機和家用產品。塞爾維亞財政部長西尼薩·馬裏估計，該項目每年可以使該國的國內生產總值提高107億至127億美元。
儘管該項目具有潛力，但它遭到了環保活動家的強烈反對，他們以塞爾維亞已經不穩定的生態狀況爲由，對潛在的水污染和環境退化發出了警報。此外，由於翡翠是礦物形式而不是液體形式（如鹽水），因此最新的解決方案，例如直接提鋰，不適用。
2022年，在大規模抗議活動和要求停止該項目的請願書之後，塞爾維亞政府吊銷了力拓的許可證，該請願書收集了30,000個簽名。這些抗議活動發生在Vucic的政治敏感時期，面臨選舉和國內壓力。但是，在最近的市政民意調查中，Vucic的政黨獲勝之後，政府似乎樂於恢復該項目。
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