The Serbian government gives the green light to the disputed lithium mining project

The Serbian government gives the green light to the disputed lithium mining project

The Serbian government on Tuesday gave permission to restart operations at a disputed lithium mining project in Rio Tinto, days after a court ruling overturned measures to halt the project.

“The government… is taking measures to restore the rule of law in the state that existed before the adoption of the regulation that was declared unconstitutional,” a Serbian government statement said.

The decision follows a Constitutional Court ruling last week, which said a 2022 government decision to revoke permits granted to the Anglo-Australian mining giant was “not consistent with the Constitution and the law”.

The future of the vast mineral deposits to be mined by Rio Tinto near Loznica in western Serbia has been a perennial political fault line in the Balkan country in recent years.

It puts a festering distrust in the Serbian government towards European plans for a greener future.

Billions of euros are at stake, with Rio Tinto saying the mine would create thousands of jobs and secure Serbia’s position in emerging energy markets.

The company said the area contains one of Europe’s largest reserves of lithium, a strategically valuable metal crucial for the production of batteries for electric vehicles.

The deposits were discovered in 2004, but the Serbian government halted the mining project in 2022 after weeks of protests fueled by environmental and public health fears.

President Aleksandar Vucic has hinted that Serbia could start mining lithium as early as 2028, following new guarantees from Rio Tinto.

“We believe that the mine would not endanger anyone or anything, but first we must get guarantees from Europe that the environment and the lives of ordinary citizens will be preserved and improved with new jobs and higher wages than today,” Vucic said Monday. .