(Adds details, changes dateline to Sydney) SYDNEY, Dec 15...

(Adds details, changes dateline to Sydney)

SYDNEY, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Rio Tinto Ltd (RIO) Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm said on Thursday that the global miner has not given up on its Jadar lithium project in Serbia.

"We haven't got it right yet on Jadar," Stausholm said at an investor briefing in Sydney, "but we have not given it up." He added that while he understood the concerns of the government, Jadar was an excellent project.

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said on Tuesday she does not see a chance of reviving Rio's $2.4 billion lithium project for which licences were revoked earlier this year.

The government revoked Jadar's licences in January after massive protests sparked by environmental concerns about the planned mine.

Rio said at its half year results in July it was "exploring all options" at Jadar as it sought to address community concerns.

Stausholm also told investors on Thursday that the government of Canada, where he was last week, was "very excited," to develop critical minerals.

Critical minerals are those key to modern technologies, such as copper, lithium, nickel and rare earths.

Rio Tinto started production of scandium oxide, used to strengthen aluminium in industries like aviation, at its Rio Tinto Fer et Titane (RTFT) operations in Quebec in May.