Jadar Project Managing Director praises decision to withdraw scientific paper on project’s harmful impact

Rio Tinto Jadar Project Managing Director Chad Blewitt said that the withdrawal of the article “The influence of exploration activities of a potential lithium mine to the environment in Western Serbia” from the scientific journal “Nature - Scientific Reports” was “a reminder of the harm that occurs when inaccurate information is presented as science.”

– We welcome the decision of the Nature journal to withdraw this misleading article. The original paper misrepresented scientific principles and presented incomplete and inaccurate data with the intention of disinforming and misleading the Serbian public.

According to him, the withdrawal of the article confirms the importance of conducting a fact-based dialogue and ensuring transparency in the responsible assessment of the potential for the development of critical mineral resources.

The scientific article “The influence of exploration activities of a potential lithium mine to the environment in Western Serbia,” which indicates the potential negative environmental consequences of the implementation of the lithium project “Jadar,” has been withdrawn from the journal “Nature - Scientific Reports,” in which it was published in July 2024.

In August of the same year, professors from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and the Faculty of Mining and Geology in Belgrade, together with the chief scientist of the company Rio Tinto, asked the journal to correct or withdraw the work signed by eight Serbian scientists.

As the portal Nova.rs wrote at the time, the journal rejected the company’s request to remove the article, but did accept certain technical corrections in the text itself.

Rio Sava Exploration d.o.o. Beograd

Mašinski fakultet Beograd

Rudarsko geološki fakultet Univerziteta u Beogradu

Rio Tinto

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Belgrade

Faculty of Mining and Geology in Belgrade

scientific journal Nature

Chad Blewitt

Jadar project

withdrawal of scientific paper