Rio Tinto director: Waiting for key approvals for Jadar project

Rio Tinto is working to secure approval for an environmental impact assessment (EIA) study and other permits, including an exploitation field licence, to move forward with its controversial Jadar lithium project in western Serbia, Chad Blewitt, the Jadar project managing director, told SeeNews.

Rio Tinto earlier planned to complete the construction of an underground mine in 2026 and to start production at the site in 2027.

– Under ideal conditions, and after we have successfully updated the EIA study, conducted public reviews, and obtained all necessary permits and regulatory approvals, construction could begin within the next few years – Blewitt told SeeNews in emailed comments on Monday.

Serbia's environmental protection ministry, which is due to issue a final decision to Rio Tinto on the scope and content of the EIA study, has not responded to a request for comment from SeeNews on where it is in the process.

Blewitt noted that Rio Tinto would have a one-year deadline to complete the study after the ministry issues the decision.

If developed, the Jadar project would be one of the largest greenfield lithium mines in the world, able to produce 2.3 million tons of battery-grade lithium carbonate suitable for electric vehicle and energy storage use over the expected mine life of 40 years, or 58,000 tons annually, placing Rio Tinto among the top ten lithium manufacturers in the world, according to the Anglo-Australian major.

The project has, however, been facing setbacks in recent years. In 2022, Serbia's government revoked the spatial plan and other licences it had issued for the project, pressed by massive environmental protests against the mine's development. The licences were then reinstated in July last year, rekindling the protests and virtually putting the project on hold.

– Our company's primary focus right now is the preparation of the comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment study, which will be the basis for demonstrating that the project is environmentally sound and safe – Blewitt said.

Local environmentalists, activists, as well as a group of scientists, claim that the project can't be developed in an environmentally safe way.

Blewitt told SeeNews that negative attitudes toward the Jadar project are a result of widespread misinformation.

– These reckless and repeated accusations, which lack any supporting evidence, have caused concern and intentionally misled the Serbian public… The safety of the project has been confirmed by the most comprehensive scientific studies ever conducted in Serbia… – Blewitt noted.

To back up his claims, Blewitt also cited a recent decision by the European Commission to include the Jadar project in its list of strategic raw materials projects outside the European Union.

– This recognition confirms that the project can be developed in line with the highest environmental and human rights standards, equivalent to those applied to similar projects in countries such as France, Germany, Canada, or Norway – he said.

The capital cost estimate for the project, published in 2021, puts the investment's value at 2.55 billion euro. Blewitt stated that this is now being revised "to reflect updated technical inputs and engineering solutions developed over the past several years."

Asked about the benefits the project would bring to Serbia's economy and state budget, Blewitt said that an analysis from 2023, which is now also being updated, estimated that the project could contribute about 695 million euro annually to Serbia's GDP, which is about 1% of the country's current GDP, and over 180 million euro to the state budget per year through taxes and royalties, accounting for 1% of Serbia's total budget revenue.

The mine's operational phase is expected to create 1,300 permanent jobs, Blewitt stated, adding the project also has significant potential to stimulate the development of local and national supply chains, with over 300 million euro expected to be spent annually on procurement.

– Jadar also has the potential to attract new investments in related industries, including cathode, battery, and electric vehicle production. These associated investments are estimated to generate over 20,000 new jobs in Serbia – Blewitt said for seenews.com.

Rio Sava Exploration d.o.o. Beograd

Ministarstvo zaštite životne sredine Republike Srbije

Rio Tinto

Ministry of Environmental Protection

Chad Blewitt

Jadar project

lithium

environmental impact assessment study

licence for exploitation field