Serbia Permits Extensive Mining of Lithium

Serbia is said to have one of the largest lithium reserves in Europe – now the government has given the green light for extraction. According to estimates, it could cover the annual lithium requirements of over 1 million electric cars.

Despite years of protests by environmentalists, Serbia's government is clearing the way for lithium mining in the Jadar Valley in the west of the country. This was reported by the Serbian news agency Tanjug. One of Europe's largest reserves of this globally scarce raw material, which is important for the electric car industry among other things, is said to be located near the town of Loznica. With a new decree, Belgrade bowed to a ruling handed down by the Serbian Constitutional Court a few days earlier. According to the ruling, the annulment of the regional planning procedure for the lithium mining project in 2022 was unlawful.

Lithium plays an important role in the construction of electric vehicles, but deposits are particularly scarce in Europe. According to Serbian media reports, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz plans to travel to Serbia on Friday to discuss the mining project. An inquiry to the German government about this initially remained unanswered.

Production of 58,000 tons of Lithium per Year

Australian mining giant Rio Tinto, which has already acquired real estate in the region, has been interested in the project for years. Serbia's Minister for Mining and Energy, Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic, explained that this project represents the future of Serbia's economic integration in Europe.

According to estimates by Rio Tinto, this mine could produce 58,000 tons of lithium annually, Serbian media reported. This would cover the needs of 1.1 million electric vehicles, which corresponds to around 17% of European production. Environmentalists criticize, among other things, that lithium mining contaminates the groundwater with heavy metals and therefore poses a risk to the drinking water supply for local residents.

This is a partly automated translation of this German article by dpa.