Australia’s Volt Resources not giving up on Serbian lithium and boron! – Applications for Jadar North and Ljig pending for five years, Petlovaca withdrawn

The Australian company Volt Resources still has two potential lithium borate exploration projects in Serbia in its portfolio – Jadar North and Ljig, but without any new developments towards the development of the deposits. The company stated in its reports for 2025 that applications for exploration licenses are still in the process, while at the same time it is facing problems with mining licenses for its Bunyu graphite project in Tanzania.

Volt is present in Serbia through the company Asena Investments d.o.o. Belgrade, which it acquired in 2021, along with rights related to the exploration of lithium borate mineralization. Initially, three areas were mentioned within the broader portfolio associated with Volt’s entry into Serbia – Jadar North, Ljig and Petlovaca. While Jadar Sever and Ljig were linked to Asena Investments’ applications, the Petlovaca application was submitted by Edelweiss Mineral Exploration, with the previously announced possibility of transfer to Asena if approved.

Now, however, Volt has two remaining applications for exploration licenses through Asena – Jadar North and Ljig, as the Petlovaca exploration license application (in the territories of Sabac and Bogatic), submitted by Edelweiss, was withdrawn during the first quarter of last year with Volt’s consent.

With Petlovaca, with its 99.65 km2, gone, Volt’s most significant Serbian project is now Jadar North, with an area of approximately 98.75 square kilometers. It is located in the northern part of the Jadar Basin, near the world-famous Jadarite deposit. Volt states that it targeted the northern part of the basin, where there is a geological connection to the Jadar area.

The Jadar Basin is one of the most famous lithium-boron systems in the world, precisely because of the mineral jadarite, a lithium-sodium-borosilicate that was first identified in the area. The Jadar deposit near Loznica was discovered in 2004, and Volt’s “compatriot,” the Australian mining giant Rio Tinto, had been developing a lithium and boron exploitation project for years, but decided to transfer it to maintenance and supervision mode at the end of 2025.

In addition to Jadar North, Volt is also monitoring the Ljig area, which covers about 92.31 square kilometers. The company states that earlier research in this area has shown the presence of mineralized sediments associated with borate systems.

In its quarterly reports to the ASX, Volt states that projects in Serbia are in the application status and are awaiting regulatory approvals. Thus, in its annual report for 2025, the company stated that applications for Serbian exploration licenses have been submitted and registered with the Ministry of Mining, but did not announce that the licenses have been issued. It also has no published mineral resource estimates, feasibility studies or decisions to proceed to the exploitation phase.

At the same time, the company reported in its latest announcement about the problem at its Bunyu project in Tanzania, stating that the Tanzanian Ministry of Minerals has informed Volt’s subsidiary Volt Graphite Tanzania plc that the mining licenses for the Bunyu Graphite project will be cancelled. Bunyu is one of Volt’s key projects and concerns the development of a large graphite deposit in Tanzania.

In the announcement, Volt Resources again mentioned Serbia as part of its portfolio of critical mineral projects.

Although Volt remains in the exploration potential phase in Serbia for now, it seems that they are not giving up on the project yet, and Asena Investments is still registered as an active company in Serbia.

Although the applications were submitted almost five years ago, the Serbian Ministry of Mining and Energy apparently still lists them as “pending applications.” It has not yet been announced why the procedures for these requests have not been completed, but it is known that the status of lithium projects in Serbia has been marked by strong public controversy and protests in recent years, which has certainly influenced the broader regulatory and political environment in which decisions are made about projects of this type.

B. Petrovic

EDELWEISS MINERAL EXPLORATION DOO

Asena Investments

Volt Resources

Edelweiss Mineral Exploration

Jadar

lithium

Jadar North

Petlovača

lithium and boron projects

graphite project Bunyu Tanzania

exploration permits