Serbian PM sees no chance for reviving Rio Tinto lithium project

BELGRADE (Reuters) – Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said on Tuesday she does not see a chance of reviving Rio Tinto’s $2.4 billion lithium project for which licences were revoked earlier this year.

The government revoked licences for the Jadar project in January after massive protests sparked by environmental concerns about the planned mine.

“I don’t see any possibility to revive the Jadar project,” Brnabic was quoted as saying by the Nova S news portal.

“I think that lithium is the biggest development opportunity for Serbia,” she said, adding that public debate about the matter will be necessary.

Environmentalists collected 30,000 signatures in a petition demanding that parliament enact legislation to halt lithium exploration in the country. The parliament is yet to hold debate on the issue.

If completed, the Jadar project could supply 90% of Europe’s current lithium needs and help make Rio a top 10 lithium producer.

(Reporting by Ivana Sekularac; editing by Jason Neely)