Government of Serbia and Rio Tinto plan to continue looking for potential strategic partner to open electric battery or electric car factory in Loznica in continuation of cooperation on Jadar project.
The Prime Minister of Serbia says that this third partner will use lithium and everything from Rio Tinto’s chemical plant as the basis for a further, final product, which she says will boost the overall Serbian economy.
“We are also approaching specific meetings with certain companies we have identified. This is an important component of this project”, Brnabic said.
She said she hopes that today we are one big step closer to Rio Tinto’s investment decision to build a chemical plant, the start of which can be expected by the end of 2021.
“This will mean for Loznica and this region that we have a plant that is 20 percent larger than the current NIS Refinery in Pancevo, 2.6 kilometers long, 1.6 kilometers wide, and that is just an indication of how important this is”, Brnabic said.
Brnabic visited the company to mark the end of an important phase in this project and the continuation of the project, together with partners from Rio Tinto.
“This is a potential that is important not only for Loznica, but for the whole country”, Brnabic said, emphasizing that the project implementing Rio Tinto has already put Serbia on the world map, and that it can truly change our country.
The PM says that there are potentially three big additional next dates for her that are important for Serbia.
She stated that a huge success for Serbia would be an agreement with Rio Tinto to relocate their laboratories and all the complex analyzes that they do at their facility, a research center in Australia, to Serbia.
“The second big thing is certainly going to be the start of construction of the plant. We hope it can be at the end of 2021 and the third big thing when we find and sign a contract with a third partner together”, said Brnabic.
In addition to the Prime Minister, Minister of Mining and Energy Aleksandar Antic and Mayor of Loznica Vidoje Petrovic paid a working visit to Rio Tinto on the occasion of the completion of geological surveys within the Jadar Project.
Working on the Jadar Project involves working on a new mineral, innovative processing technology and design solutions for the greenfield mining and industrial complex.
The priority is to provide long-term solutions for modern, safe and sustainable exploitation and metallurgical processing of minerals, with the aim of obtaining high quality lithium carbonate for lithium batteries.
The Government has recently approved the Spatial Plan for the Jadar project and has allocated funds to start building the necessary road infrastructure.
The next phase of project development involves the preparation of the Resource and Reserve Elaboration and the completion of the current phase of the study.
Environmental and other permits, as well as the provision of road and communal infrastructure necessary for the construction of this large and modern industrial complex, are also in focus during the next phase of project development.
Marnie Finlayson, CEO of Rio Sava Exploration, a subsidiary of Rio Tinto in Serbia, said the company’s achievements in Serbia are the result of an innovative approach it represents.
“We are working hard to complete the work in a timely manner and in the best interests of both Serbia and the company. Rio Tinto strongly believes that a low carbon future is possible and that lithium and the Jadar Project are key elements of this vision”, Finlayson said .
Rio Tinto has drilled and analyzed more than 200 kilometers of core samples and conducted more than 2,000 tests to develop innovative yadarite processing technology, and this is one of several projects with the highest growth potential within the company, which announces that it is continuing its research and investment in the Jadar Project, Novosti reports.
