The Minister of Mining and Energy, Zorana Mihajlovic, stated today that the exploitation of lithium in Podrinje is not a story about the Rio Tinto company, but about what mineral resources Serbia possesses and whether it can exploit them in a healthy way.
Mihajlovic said that jadarite, which contains lithium, is located in Jadar, Serbia, and that it can represent a chance for the future of our country.
“That chance is economic, developmental, we have the opportunity to completely change economic development, it is not an ordinary mineral, ordinary production, it is not a story that will be well in the next few years, it is a story that will go on for decades to come all over the world,” said Mihajlovic on TV Prva.
She points out that lithium is very important for the production of batteries and that the state of Serbia wants to have a mine and processing, as well as a lithium battery factory.
As she says, the desire is to find the best manufacturers who will be able to build an electric vehicle factory in our country, while respecting all standards.
She states that the offer of the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, to hold a referendum on the issue of lithium exploitation is fair and that, in her opinion, there is nothing more democratic than that.
She believes that citizens from all over Serbia do not have to vote in the referendum, but only the Macva district can, and says that she would vote “yes” in that referendum.
“We will give the truth and the facts and the opportunity to the citizens to decide whether Serbia will move forward, have an electric vehicle factory and have an annual income of over 19 billion euros and an impact on GDP of more than 20 percent or not,” said the Minister.
Asked whether the concern that part of the public has about the fact that this exploitation will have an irreversible bad impact on the environment is justified, Mihajlovic said that, unfortunately, in the previous months we have heard many untruths and lies on that issue.
“I don’t understand those who frighten and deceive the public that who knows how bad things will happen. No, that’s not it, this is a development opportunity, whether we will use it depends on us,” said Mihajlovic.
When asked if she can do money and health, the Minister emphasized that it cannot be done differently today and stated that it would be green mining.
She also stated that in the previous months we have been hearing untruths and lies, primarily from those who deal with politics, how the contract with Rio Tinto was signed and pointed out that the contract was not signed, that the company has only been doing research since 2002 and that see when and if the contract will be signed at all.
Also, according to her, it is said that it will have a bad impact on the environment, and that the study on the impact assessment has not been completed yet, and it is expected that it will be done during the summer.
“And that study will be public and everyone will be able to say what they think about it. There must not be a single thing in any step that will not be told to the citizens,” says Mihajlovic and responds to those who say that Macva will be flooded with waste and will be measured in billions of tons, that if the mine is opened it will work for 60 years, and the total amount of solid waste for all 60 years will be 59 million tons.
Mihajlovic also says that the technology that will be used is not a secret, as well as that the mine will not be operated on an area of 40 square kilometers, but on 400 hectares, and that thousands of people will not have to leave Macva because 59 houses will be exploited.
Responding to President Vucic’s criticism that neither she nor her predecessor Aleksandar Antic have collected anything since 2002, Mihajlovic says that Rio Tinto was only given research decisions and that according to our law, it is not possible to charge.
“A year ago, we proved the reserves, we have 158 million tons that have been proven and the possibility to build a mine that can work for 60 years,” concluded Mihajlovic, Dnevnik reports.
