Dragana Đorđević, a scientific adviser at the Institute of Chemistry, Technology and Metallurgy at the University of Belgrade, asserts that extracting lithium from Germany’s underground water reserves could be the cleanest method for obtaining the metal. Conversely, she describes the proposed lithium ore exploitation in the Jadar Valley near Loznica, Serbia, as potentially the dirtiest and most environmentally damaging.
Đorđević explains that Germany possesses significant lithium reserves, particularly in the Rhine River valley, where 16 million tons of lithium carbonate equivalent lie at depths exceeding four kilometers. Currently, these reserves are still being explored. Additionally, lithium has been detected in Germany’s existing mines on the Czech border, where the area is already environmentally compromised, suggesting minimal additional damage if extraction were to proceed there.
Ana Brnabić, the President of the Serbian Parliament, has voiced support for lithium mining in Serbia, emphasizing its importance for Europe and noting that Serbia holds the only significant lithium deposit on the continent.
Responding to observations that Germany, despite its lithium reserves, has not commenced extraction, Brnabić expressed confidence that EU countries would exploit such resources if they had developed a project comparable to Serbia’s.
Đorđević emphasizes that extracting lithium from groundwater represents the cleanest extraction method to date, second only to the highly challenging process of extracting the metal from seawater due to its low concentration.
“This method leaves no surface footprint, requiring no massive amounts of concentrated sulfuric and hydrochloric acids necessary for ore extraction. It eliminates tailings and allows for laboratory-based processing, avoiding the need for large-scale facilities and factories,” Đorđević notes. She speculates that Germany may be postponing exploitation to capitalize on potential future price increases.
In contrast, Đorđević highlights the Jadar project’s severe environmental implications, describing it as potentially “the worst possible mining operation globally.” She points out that establishing a mine within a settlement on fertile, water-rich land is unprecedented worldwide.
“The real issue extends beyond the mine itself to include the processing plant, which would produce vast quantities of wastewater and hazardous waste,” Đorđević explains. She warns that the mining waste would contain large amounts of boron, a substance beneficial in small quantities for plant life and used in pharmaceuticals and agriculture but toxic in larger amounts. This has been evident in the Jadar area, where toxic water leakage has stunted plant growth due to boron contamination.
