Well, well, well, Rio opening a battery metals pandora’s box in Serbia it seems
After Simon says,
BUT and it's a Big but, as
The investment, which still depends on Rio Tinto being granted the necessary permits in the eastern European nation.
Especially when it's a long and winding road with plenty of Potholes & Protests to overcome before any ambitions of Mining in Serbia gets off the ground anytime soon, as
Environmental issues of Rio Tinto’s Jadar project in Serbia
In February this year, Prime Minister Ana Brnabić visited Rio Tinto’s site and said that this effort is important not only for Loznica but for the whole country.
On that occasion, she expressed the hope that the construction of the chemical plant will begin at the end of next year.
Many Loznica residents disagree with this idea, arguing that an environmental catastrophe awaits them if it happens.
Miodrag Stanisic from Osecina says that excavations in the mine will increase the pollution in the area, and that there will be more harm than good from the mine.
He adds that he participated in the protests against the construction of the chemical plant here.
“We are about fifteen kilometres from the future mine. In the last year and a half, the representatives of Rio Tinto conducted research here three or four times a week.
The excavations are planned in the basin of the Kolubara and Korenita rivers and will be 40 metres long. This in practice means that the waste will be disposed of on the surface,” Stanisic warns.
Stanisic points out that the technology of mining the ore is quite dirty, and the possibility of an environmental accident is very high.
He adds that many citizens are uninformed, which is why they are silent about this.
“I am an economist by profession and I think the effects (of the project implementation) will be very negative. The miners are poorly paid and I don’t think the area will benefit from that,” said Stanisic.
Vladan Jakovljevic shares Stanisic’s views and says that because his family of five was not able to work in Loznica, he started beekeeping.
“A black and poisonous cloud hovers over my bees and my existence, and if the bees disappear, the location population will not fare well.
I am not a member of any political party and my opposition to mining is a personal stance in the interest of preserving the quality of water, soil and air,” Jakovljevic adds.
Marija Alimpic from the Protecting Jadar and Radjevina Association recalls that in 2004, Rio Tinto discovered deposits of borate and lithium which are considered critical raw materials.
According to her, during the 15 years of research, the company has kept the technical, environmental and social impacts of the project secret.
The company says that the jadarite is as a unique mineral and claims to have developed special processing techniques, although no one has seen or heard anything about it.
Source: serbianmonitor.com
Protest against Rio Tinto’s lithium mine in Serbia
The experts of Rio Tinto conducted many years of research on the mineral jadarite and found it in 2004 in the basin of the river Jadar, after which it was named.
During this, the representatives of the state, together with the authorities from Rio Tinto, announced the construction of a chemical plant for 2021, and this endeavor was marked by the Serbian public as an investment of the century.
The local population of Brezjak is most worried about the impact of dirty technologies related to lithium mining on their environment, which was often warned by domestic experts for environmental protection, the Oslobodjenje movement announced.
In the village of Brezjak in the Loznica area, a large protest was held in front of the representative office of Rio Tinto, against the company’s intention to start the exploitation of lithium ore.
Marija Alimpic from the association “Let’s protect Jadar and Radjevina” in her address to the gathered pointed out that “citizens were not informed about this project, there were no consultations, and many were intimidated.”
“We must be aware of how many long-term problems this project will leave, not only for the residents of Loznica and its surroundings, but also for the whole of Serbia,” said Alimpic and added:
“Rio Tinto representative Gregory Maher does not know where he came to.
“Serbs will defend their homes, their villages and their environment.”
This was also confirmed by the resident Slavisa Miletic, who said in a fiery speech that he is “a descendant of famous ancestors and the father of six children, but that he does not intend to retire, but to fight for his country.”
Professor Dusko Kuzovic, a representative of the Oslobodjenje movement, emphasized that the project was not transparent.
“The feasibility study has been declared a business secret of Rio Tinto.
We demand a moratorium, not only on this project, but also on all other endeavors that permanently destroy the environment, such as mini-hydro power plants. ”
Representatives of environmental movements, the PAKT organization, “Ne damo Jadar”, who have been pointing out numerous problems of lithium mining for a long time, also spoke at the gathering.
The protest gathered several hundred residents of Brezjak and surrounding villages, who carried banners “Rio Tinto go away”, “We are defending the whole of Serbia”, “What will our children tell us”, “Lithium for you – poison for us”.
The protest was also attended by the president of the Oslobodjenje movement, Mladjan Djordjevic, who a few days ago pointed out the problems and harmful consequences of this project in the media, explaining that Serbia will be left with “destroyed environment in one of the most beautiful parts of the country, as well as seven billion tons of toxic tailings. ”
Representatives of Rio Tinto left the offices before the beginning of the protest, refusing to talk to the gathered citizens.
Source: rs-lat.sputniknews.com
Protests against Rio Tinto’s future lithium mine in Serbia
Protest was organized in front of the Rio Tinto’s premises in Serbian city Loznica.
The citizens of Loznica demanded an urgent suspension of all activities related to the construction of the jadarite/lithium mine and the abandonment of the lithium exploitation project near their city.
Citizens are protesting because they do not know what the ore flotation will look like, how and where the tailings from the mine will be deposited and what impact it will have on the environment, and they express fear that it will be harmful to the environment and health.
The protest was organized by the informal citizens’ association for the protection of Gornji Jadra and the Podrinje Anti-Corruption Team (PAKT). Miroslav Mijatović from PAKT told Sputnik that this is only the first protest that there will be more of them, because the health of their children is more important than any “artificial economic progress”.
He states that Rio Tinto came to Serbia with a “long tradition of violating human rights and violating the environment.”
He estimates that the opening of the mine will close life in Gornji Jadar, that low-skilled jobs will be created, and fertile land will be lost.
According to him, the potential danger of an environmental accident is much greater than the local one, and the consequences can be felt within a radius of 150 kilometers, which means that not only Loznica is endangered, but also Šabac and Belgrade.
He states that in the past few years, the Faculty of Mining and Geology has earned 100 million and 500 thousand dinars from Rio Tinto, the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering 12 million, the Faculty of Civil Engineering 10, and the Institute of Public Health Belgrade 13.1 million dinars, institutions are auditing all the studies done so far, because the people cannot trust the institutions paid for by Rio Tinto.
The most important request of the protest organizers is the holding of a referendum of the citizens on whether they are for or against the mine.
“Citizens must be asked whether or not they want a mine and under what conditions,” said Mijatović.
The mining company, Rio Tinto, whose headquarters are in London, has been present in Serbia since 2007.
In July 2017, Rio Tinto signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Serbia on the project for the development of lithium and pine deposits “Jadar”, and in the middle of last year it announced that it would start exploiting lithium in four years.
According to the plan, a feasibility study for the project should be completed by the end of this year.
Rio Tinto has so far invested almost half a million dollars in research.
According to “Bloomberg”, the estimated reserves of lithium in Serbia are the largest in Europe, and preliminary research suggests that it could be 200 million tons.
The American Geological Institute speculates that it is as much as a million tons of lithium.
Source: sputniknews.com
Rio Tinto approved investment for the feasibility study for lithium-borate Jadar project in Serbia
The unique mineral, Jadarite was discovered by Rio Tinto geologists in 2004 near the city of Loznica in Western Serbia.
The Jadar deposit contains high-grade mineralisation of boron and lithium supporting a long-life operation in the first quartile of operating costs for both products.
Rio Tinto Energy & Minerals Chief Executive Bold Baatar said “Rio Tinto’s lithium project pipeline is an important part of our vision to pursue opportunities which are part of the transition to a low-carbon future.
We look forward to working closely with the Government of Serbia over the next eighteen months as we develop and validate our understanding of the project to the point when we can seek a final investment decision by the Board of Rio Tinto.”
Rio Tinto has approved an additional investment of almost $200 million to progress the next stage of the development of the lithium-borate Jadar project in Serbia.
This will primarily fund the feasibility study, including the completion of detailed engineering designs, as well as permitting and land acquisition by the end of 2021, in line with the initial project schedule.
The company completed the detailed exploration of the Jadarite deposit in February 2020.
The results of the drilling programme are now being incorporated into an update of the geological model.
This update will facilitate a JORC Reserve declaration as part of the feasibility study and also a submission of Elaborate on Reserves, in accordance with the Serbian mineral code.
The development includes an underground mine, an industrial processing facility and all associated infrastructure.
The project has the potential to supply the world with a significant amount of end-industrial products for lithium batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage facilities.
It would also supply borates which are used in the manufacturing of detergents, cosmetics and other consumer goods.
In parallel, Rio Tinto has also started work on the commissioning of its lithium demonstration plant in the United States, which is extracting lithium from waste rock at its Boron mine in California.
This plant could potentially produce 10 tonnes per year of lithium-carbonate needed in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles and consumer electronics.
Rio Tinto faces UK finance watchdog probe into value of Oyu Tolgoi
Britain’s financial watchdog is conducting a probe into Rio Tinto and its $6.75 billion underground copper project in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) was investigating whether the Anglo-Australian miner breached listing rules in disclosures about the value of Oyu Tolgoi in 2018 and 2019, the report added, citing people familiar with the matter.
Rio reached a binding agreement with Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd earlier this year over funding for expansion of the copper-gold mine, whose development has faced cost and timeline blowouts and has caused acrimony between the mining giant and its junior partner.
The expansion of Oyu Tolgoi mine, Rio’s biggest copper growth project, has seen costs balloon up to $6.75 billion, about $1.4 billion higher than Rio’s estimate in 2016, and has led to friction over funding with Turquoise Hill.
Both FCA and Rio Tinto declined Reuters’ requests for comments.
Oyu Tolgoi, one of the world’s largest-known copper and gold deposits, is 34% owned by the Mongolian government. The rest is held by Turquoise Hill, in which Rio owns a 50.8% stake.
As they say, "There's always 2 sides to the Serbian Story"
So, Would you want Rio Mining or Polluting in your backyard
If it all gets too Hard ( Rock ) for Rio in Serbia , there's a Monster of a Resource waiting to be Explored further just down the Road in Africa btw
Don't be Shy, come on Down to the DRC where,
“With Manono confirmed as the world’s largest lithium deposit, we are increasingly confident that the project will continue to develop into production and potentially become a world-leading source of lithium and tin,” AVZ managing director Nigel Ferguson said.
AVZ Minerals today stated that the overall total resource (including inferred resources) of 400 million tonnes at Manono remained unchanged, but the percentage in the measured and indicated categories had improved significantly from 47 to 67 per cent, boosting confidence in the project.
Ferguson added that Manono would continue to grow significantly as work continued at the Roche Dure pegmatite.
“This update provides further assurances as to the demonstrated world-class scale, grade and nature of the Manono project,” Ferguson said.
“We are encouraged by the results of the upgrade in resource categories which were expected given the results of the drilling program.”
The project is spread over a 188 square kilometre area in southern DRC’s Tanganyika province and includes five pegmatites, the largest of which are named Carriere de L’est and Roche Dure.
We / AVZ / DRC don't need Rio, LG, VW, Tesla, BMW, Stellantis, they need DRC asap
Food for thought on the Road to Mining Manono
C'mon Felix tick those Boxes to get this Show on the Road
Cheers
Frank
AVZ Price at posting:
21.0¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
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