What is Rio Tinto Doing in Serbia?

Rio Tinto was established in 1873, led by Scottish entrepreneur Hugh Matheson, a British-European investor group that bought the Rio Tinto mines in Spain province of Huelva in 1873. (Ugiseditors, 2012). It introduced new techniques and constructed new processing facilities that allowed the emergent Rio Tinto Company to transform an operation that had once supplied the ancient Greeks and Romans into one of the number one copper producers globally (Ugiseditors, 2012).

Over the years, thanks to its long-term planning, Rio Tinto has become one of the biggest mining companies. As said, “The objective of the Group has been to maximize its value and the long term return delivered to shareholders by finding, mining and processing natural resources across the globe” (Ide-Jetro, 2009). For that purpose, the company has been following a well-planned long-term strategy to improve its wealth. Moreover, it has been making a large-scale, low-cost, and long-life operation to operate its gain at every stage. 

So, let’s clarify what Rio Tinto tries to do in western Serbia.

Rio Tinto is producing materials essential for human progress, and achieving this goal requires them to work in remote locations, beautiful environments, and on the lands owned by indigenous people. 

A geologist Bob Kellie discovered a lithium sodium borosilicate mineral, called jadarite, in Jadarit valley near the Village of Draginac and the town of Loznica in 2004 (Siljković & Denić & Rakić, 2017). Hence, the name of the project in Serbia became Jadar. 

Researchers, conducted by Rio Tinto clearly, tell us that Jadarite is rich in lithium and borate. Lithium is seen as a significant mineral for the future because it is a vital component for clean technologies such as electric vehicles and battery storage. (Rio Tinto-Jadar, 2021) Moreover, the Jadar project explains that it aims to produce battery-grade lithium carbonate for electric vehicles and store renewable energy. Based on this, Rio Tinto claims that the Jadar project is one of the largest greenfield lithium projects in the world.

Rio Tinto has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Government of Serbia on behalf of the initiation of the Jadar Project (Rio Tinto, 2017). The MOU will enable the foundation of joint working groups between the government and the company to progress the Jadar Project through the study and permitting phases, as per the law. Before attending the signing of the MOU, Prime Minister of Serbia Ana Brnabić said that it is necessary to initiate economic development at the local level, and the Jadar project will significantly contribute to the development of Loznica and the entire region. Rio Tinto is targeting to produce 2.3 million tons of lithium carbonate in the Jadar Project, estimated to have 40 years of mine life in Serbia (Rio Tinto commits funding for Jadar Lithium Project, 2021). The company has, so far, invested 90 million dollars in the Jadar Project. Therefore, Rito Tinto and the government of Serbia believe that they will push the economic growth of Serbia (Rio Tinto Mining Plan in Serbia Suspended after Protests, 2021).

From Rio Tinto’s point of view, they support the 2030 development agenda of the United Nations, therefore they contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Their focus is specifically on SDG 12 (responsible consumption and production), SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth), and SDG 17 (partnership for goals) (Rio Tinto, 2018).

The 12th goal of SDG relates here how Rio Tinto produces materials and how they contribute to ethical global supply chains. Secondly, the 8th goal of SDG here relates directly to Rio Tinto’s values, priorities, and commitments to create a safe and inclusive environment. Thirdly, the 17th goal of SDG here reflects Rio Tinto’s approach to sustainability, and it is fundamental to the way they run their business (Rio Tinto, 2018).

It is argued that they follow respective guidelines to protect their priorities such as the safety of people, the environment, and their communities. On the other hand, some evidence shows that the project of Jadar is not following those guidelines. The environmentalists do not support the project because of the upcoming rise of pollution within Serbia and the Serbian government’s lack of response. In addition, not only environmentalists but also thousands of people in Serbia blocked main roads to oppose Rio Tinto’s mining operations to protect their nature. Moreover, The mining operations were expected to start soon but local authorities in western Serbia have suspended the plan of Rio Tinto because of its possible ecological impacts in the region such as damage to rivers and farmland because of lithium excavation (Tu Guardian; Associated Press in Belgrade, 2021). 

Besides, environmentalists keep questioning how ‘green’ the lithium batteries are since it's the area where the lithium has been used the most. Extraction of lithium requires high amounts of water, almost 500.000 gallons per tonne of the mineral. In Serbia, local people and authorities fear the mine’s huge tailings because those tailings are the toxic residues of chemicals, rock, water, and other relevant residues from the mining process. There is only one place that has been announced as the tailing site; Radjevina. This area involves the destruction of 170 hectares of forest and it is home to many protected species and local people who depend on underground waters around. In the near past, a huge amount of tailings from an antimony mine was released into the Kostanjnik River (a Jadar tributary). In local waterways, elevated levels of arsenic, copper, lead, and zinc were founded by the Serbian Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA). Moreover, the Serbian government reported heavy metal contamination in the 360 hectares of soil. The area of Jadar has already experienced pollution from mining and communities fear the new project's huge disaster. 

Let’s discover what are the near-future impacts of the Jadar project.

In the forthcoming period, it is expected that there will be a tendency to become the first mineral of the green revolution for lithium. Moreover, with the lithium and borate resource potential, Serbia can be in a significant position on the green minerals market. In more detail, the Jadarit mine would directly employ 450 people and about 800 to 1000 workers very shortly that would be indirectly related to the mine. With designed exploitation for 50 years, the Jadarit mine would ensure not only the long-term economic prosperity of the region but the whole of Serbia. Some estimations show that the Jadarit mine near Loznica would bring 30-40% of the total revenues of the municipality (Siljković & Denić & Rakić, 2017).

As per mining and lithium minerals, the effects of ore processing are visible in three to five years, and even longer. Money turnover in the mining industry is very slow. Estimations of Rio Tinto for the Jadarit mine near Loznica show that, although the lithium and boron minefields in Serbia are profitable, it takes about six years to organize the exploitation. Hence, it raises the question of whether the assessments of the economic and environmental effect of this mineral in Serbia are cost-effective just from the viewpoint of the economy because investments in mining are visible only in a few years.

Besides, due to the plan of the project built in a fertile river valley, the area will be threatened by pollution from the mine and associated tailings pond. Hundreds of farmers are threatened with eviction and some 19,000 people will be left with the danger of toxified water, air, and soil. The project faces considerable local and national opposition (Mars sa Drine Collective, 2021).

To conclude, Rio Tinto is planning to vitalize the Jadar project in the near future and it seems like the Serbian government does not take proper action to stop the project. Serbian people are against the project because of its possible impacts on nature and the people around it. It might be important to highlight that the logic behind the project does not make any sense because it aims to use lithium for electric vehicles to have a more sustainable environment but the problem is that to make somewhere more sustainable or more natural, somewhere else’s nature should not be destroyed. In the overall picture, the world is ours, the world’s nature belongs to us so it should not be allowed to damage anywhere in the world because it will affect everywhere in the long run. 

References

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Corporate Watch, (2021)“Serbia: Rio Tinto Driving Ecological Destruction In The Jadar Valley”. London, United Kingdom. https://corporatewatch.org/serbia-rio-tinto-driving-ecological-destruction-in-the-jadar-valley/ (Accessed on 25/12/2020). 

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