Jadar project big potential for development of Serbia – Mine near Loznica to produce 10% of global supplies of lithium

Minister of Mining and Energy of Serbia Aleksandar Antic and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Australia Julie Bishop have estimated that Serbia has a great interest in enhancing political relations with that country, as well as that the visit of the Australian head diplomat to Belgrade will contribute to better economic relations of the two countries.

Antic said that Serbia had great potential in the mining sector and pointed to the considerable share of Australian capital in mining companies, above all in the multinational company Rio Tinto, which is conducting exploration of the unique mineral composition of the lithium ore in the Loznica area within the Jadar project.

– The Jadar project is a serious and important job for Rio Tinto, but also a big potential for the development of Serbia, as this world-class site will soon enter the phase of being turned into a mine, which will generate more than 10% of the global production of lithium – Antic said, as reported by the Ministry of Mining and Energy.

He also said that Serbia had a good Law on Mining and Geological Research and that it had been assessed as “a safe and stable country for investments”, which, as he said, is supported by the fact that companies in the mining sector opt for long-term investments and that Serbia has earned the trust of foreign investors by initiating the Jadar project.

Antic added that Australian companies adhered to environmental standards in the Serbian market, that they were responsible towards human lives and had good cooperation with local self-governments, and that the Serbian side was interested in putting their potentials at the disposal of companies from Australia.

Bishop said during her meeting with Antic that Serbia “has been recognized as a stable democratic state with developed institutions and a free market”.

– Rio Tinto is a responsible company in social terms and terms of safety, and the Jadar project is a world-class site. If it is realized, it will be able to meet a considerable part of the global needs for lithium and borates. The company is one of the global leaders in ore exploitation, and the signing of the planned Memorandum of Understanding would provide additional stimulation to the economic exchange between the two countries – Julia Bishop said.

Ministarstvo rudarstva i energetike Republike Srbije

Rio Sava Exploration d.o.o. Beograd

Rio Tinto plc London

Aleksandar Antic

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Australia

Julie Bishop

lithium

lithium ore

Jadar project

Law on Mining and Geological Research