It has been more than 15 years since three of our geologists, in the vicinity of Loznica, discovered the only mineral in the world. Exploring boron deposits for the world’s leading mining company “Rio Tinto”, they found an unusual mineral whose composition was seen only in the film about Superman, world media reported at the time.
Clark Kent’s “stumbling block” is green, and “kryptonite” from Serbia is white. He was found by Nenad Grubin and his colleagues, and he was named Jadarite, after the river next to which he was found.
At that location, the beginning of the construction of one of the most modern mines in the world is now being prepared, where lithium, borate and sodium sulfate, components of jadarite, will be extracted from 2026. It is estimated that a dozen world reserves of lithium will arrive from the deposits in Serbia, without which the production of batteries for electric cars or mobile phones is unthinkable.
Apart from Grubin, the four-member team that followed the scientific assumptions that our country lies in a colorful mineral wealth also included Vladisav Eric, Vladimir Stojanovic (who passed away) and the British Robert Kelly.
The media avalanche was caused by Chris Stanley, a professor at the Natural History Museum in London, to whom a “googling” composition of minerals discovered near Vuk’s city jumped a fictional stone from comics and a movie about Superman.
– We did not expect that while doing the tests we would come across something completely new – Grubin recalls. – Our task was to find a deposit of boron minerals. It all actually started in the mid-1990s, when my colleagues at the Faculty of Mining and Geology and I, led by Professor Jelena Obradovic, started a series of researches. We analyzed lake basins in the former Yugoslavia that are known to have the potential to contain deposits of borate, lithium, and other industrial minerals. There were many volcanoes and lakes on the territory of today’s Serbia 20 million years ago, and that is an environment where many interesting minerals can be found.
After chemical analyzes, scientists from the Belgrade Faculty published texts about their discoveries, about potential deposits, in international journals. Their interpretations were read by people from the mining industry. And the search began.
– The goal of “Rio Tinto” was to match Turkey, as the leading country in the production of borate minerals, with the discovery of a new deposit in Serbia – says Grubin. – We also found borate, but we found the presence of a hitherto unknown mineral in that core.
Jadarite, the profession says, is commercially interesting because it is a mineral that dissolves relatively easily in the technological process of lithium and boron – both highly sought-after industrial elements. Lithium is known to be widely used in the manufacture of batteries that power electric vehicles, computers, mobile phones and industrial systems. The application of boron is also wide – from the pharmaceutical to the glass and ceramics industry. And by separating these two, a third co-product is created – sodium sulfate, useful in the household chemical industry.
– We have three final products, which is an exceptional rarity. It is obvious that the demand for lithium will grow in the future, so the discovery of this deposit in Serbia is extremely important – says Grubin and adds that “Rio Sava”, the Serbian branch of the world company, intends to build a mine that will literally be a “space shuttle” underground. A kind of city within a city, which will directly employ about 700 people, and another 2,000 indirectly.
– Jadarite is unique, incomparable with anything in the world – says Grubin. – A plant has been built in Australia specifically for testing that mineral, and the plan is to transfer it to Serbia. At the moment, seven faculties are working on studies, assessment and research.
The found deposit, as Grubin says, is very rich, so it is logical to expect that there is jadarite somewhere else nearby. The total amount of discovered reserves is 158.5 million tons. The assumption is that one and a half million tons of annual production, so it is a matter of decades of exploitation.
– We are used to our association with dirty miners, with outdated lamps, like dwarfs from the fairy tale about Snezana, but the mine whose construction should start at the end of the year will be something quite the opposite – says Andrea Radonjic from “Rio Tinto”. – It is a highly automated mine in which engineers and highly educated technicians will work, well paid. Currently, only tests are being done, as well as environmental impact assessments. They will not start work until all permits have been obtained. The company plans to invest 150 million dollars in environmental protection alone, of which about 40 million dollars is in water protection, Novosti reports.
