Rio Tinto responds to misleading article and inaccurate information on Jadar Project environmental studies

On March 14 weekly magazine NIN published the article “Mining lithium would destroy living world in Jadar”. The article quotes parts of the findings published in 2021 publication of the Serbian Academy of Science and Arts (SANU) and concludes that “opening of the Jadarite mine and processing facility would irreversibly damage living world in Jadar”.

This article and said conclusions are inaccurate and represent misinterpretation of the facts from the baseline research studies undertaken as a part of the standard Environmental Impact Assessment process. These facts have been purposely taken out of context of the entire EIA study and misleadingly presented as final conclusions of the scientists on the Jadar project.

We understand the concerns Serbian people have about environmental impact of the Jadar project on the air, water, waste, land, agriculture and biodiversity.

The EIA studies for the Jadar Project have been conducted by over 40 independent domestic and international scientists and experts. The studies analyse baseline quality of the environment, predicts potential harmful impacts of the project, and suggests measures to mitigate them. This is a standard, legally required procedure for every mining and industrial project.

The NIN article ignores the protection, mitigation or prevention measures that studies outline and instead focuses on worst case scenarios which are not typical of standard daily operations. As an example, flora and fauna would not be eradicated as the article claims.

Biodiversity studies conducted over a six year-period concluded no species or habitat would disappear from Serbia due to the development of the Jadar Project, either in the construction or in the operational phase.

Furthermore, it is important to clarify that no endemic or rare species have been registered in the proposed project area. The NIN article incorrectly lists the great dubcac as a rare species, which is not an accurate statement because the great dubcac in western Serbia was found in localities outside the planned disposal site. This claim is additionally negated by the fact that this species is widespread throughout Europe.

The claims that there is no environmentally acceptable and safe way to mine and exploit lithium is unsubstantiated and a part of an ongoing campaign against the Jadar Project which presents false or misleading information.

Rio Tinto calls on all interested parties to engage in a fact-based public dialogue on all aspects of the Jadar Project based on verified, documented and scientifically based data, to avoid continuing to mislead the public.