Rio Tinto revising costs of Jadar project

Rio Tinto is revising the cost of its Serbian lithium project that the European Commission identified as one of 13 strategic new critical material projects, Chad Blewitt, managing director of the Jadar lithium mine, said on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

– The last time we went out to market and looked at the budget, it was over 2.55 billion euros. So, we are currently in the midst of updating that capital cost. The strategic project status that we received today requires us to meet European Union environmental and human rights standards, and that will be reflected in the final capital cost – Blewitt told Reuters.

Blewitt could not be drawn into an estimate of the revised cost or timeline for the project - which was initially forecast to start production in 2027 - saying the Anglo-Australian giant also needed to obtain a field exploitation license.

– Once we... get the license, we can then go and update the project schedules and have a look at costing. So, I don’t want to give a definitive date – Blewitt said and added that the Jadar project positioned Serbia at the forefront of the green and digital revolution.

If implemented, Rio Tinto’s Jadar project could meet 90% of Europe’s current lithium needs. But protesters in Serbia have threatened to block roads and railways if the project goes ahead, Reuters writes.

The agency reminds that the project is contested by green groups and many Serbs on environmental grounds, and sparked massive street protests in 2022 which led the government to revoke all Rio Tinto’s exploration licenses. The Constitutional Court overturned the decision last year and reinstated the licenses.

Rio is the only major mining company to bet heavily on lithium, used in electric vehicle batteries.

With the lithium market in the doldrums as a wave of new supply overwhelms weaker-than-expected demand for EV batteries, it will take years to know whether this bet will have paid off, although demand projections for the metal are more positive into the next decade, Reuters writes.

Rio Sava Exploration d.o.o. Beograd

Rio Tinto

Chad Blewitt

Jadar

lithium