Serbian highest court clears path for Rio Tinto’s lithium project

Serbia’s highest court opened the way on Thursday to authorize a lithium mining project by mining giant Rio Tinto after a government decision that suspended it while many activists remain firmly opposed.

Rio Tinto welcomed the court’s decision. At the same time, project director Chad Blewitt wanted to be reassuring by telling AFP that the project respected Serbia’s and the European Union’s standards and could become a “catalyst for the development of other industries and thousands of jobs”.

‘Turning point’

In its decision, the Constitutional Court adds, however, that it is up to the government “to decide on the future of the project in question, in compliance with the constitution and the law”.

After stopping work in 2022, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told the Financial Times that if Rio Tinto presented good guarantees, “the mine could open in 2028”. At the end of June, Prime Minister Milos Vucevic explained to AFP that he would never let “anyone destroy rivers, fields, forests, mountains” while adding that “if Serbia has such economic potential, interesting for the entire European continent, then it can be a turning point not only economic but also political.”

Opponents fear pollution

The ‘Jadar mine’, as the project is called, refers to the Jadar River, which flows nearby. The mine was discovered in 2004, and, according to Rio Tinto, it could produce annually 58,000 tons of lithium carbonate, 160,000 tons of boric acid, and 255,000 tons of sodium sulfate, which would make it one of the most important deposits in Europe for lithium. However, opponents fear this underground mine will pollute the soil, water, and air.

Several hundred activists gathered in front of Serbia’s highest court on Thursday, hoping that it would review the decision regarding the lithium mining project.

“If they try to implement the project in any way (…), we will be forced to go further,” Zlatko Kokanovic, an activist from the village where the mine is located, warned on Thursday after the announcement of the Constitutional Court’s decision. To be continued…