Serbia to decide fate of Rio Tinto's Jadar after April election – Reuters

Serbia will decide on the fate of Rio Tinto Group's Jadar lithium project following a general election in April, Reuters reported Jan. 12, quoting Prime Minister Ana Brnabic.

"The project is paused until we in Serbia agree on what we want to do, whether we want to go farther in exploration, exploitation, and use of lithium or not," Brnabic told the news wire.

"I think it is a decision for the future, and I believe it would be smarter, better, and fairer if it is brought by the political elites that will lead the country in the next four years," the prime minister added.

The Jadar project faces opposition from the local community due to its potential impact to the environment. However, Rio Tinto said that it remains committed to the development and advancement of the project.

"We will continue to work with the Serbia government and a wide group of local and global experts across all aspects of the environmental, social, and governance impacts of the Jadar project," the company said in a statement.

According to the report, there were more protests held in Belgrade on Jan. 12 to urge the government to cancel the exploration license of Rio Tinto.

Brnabic previously said that Serbia may possibly cancel all contracts with Rio Tinto related to the development of Jadar, as the government was close to agreeing to the requests from the environmentalists.