Rio Tinto Reviewing Serbia's Move to Revoke Lithium Project Licenses
January 20 2022 - 2:22PM
Dow Jones News
By Robb M. Stewart
Rio Tinto PLC said Thursday it was reviewing the legal basis and
implications of a decision by Serbia's government to revoke
licenses for the mining company's lithium project.
"Rio Tinto is extremely concerned by the statement from the
prime minister, Ana Brnabic, about cancelling the spatial plan and
revoking licences related to the Jadar project," a company
spokesman said.
The spokesman said that the mining company, throughout its work
on Jadar, has operated in compliance with the Serbia's laws.
The government's decision is a further blow for Rio Tinto, which
earlier this week said that due to license delays, first saleable
production from the Jadar lithium-borate project in Serbia is now
expected no earlier than 2027, a year later than previously
planned.
Ms. Brnabic told reporters the government's decision to revoke
Rio Tinto's licenses came after requests from various environmental
organizations to halt the project, Reuters reported earlier
Thursday.
Last July, Rio Tinto said it was committing $2.4 billion to the
Jadar project, which it expected would position it as the largest
source of lithium supply in Europe for at least the next 15
years.
Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 20, 2022 15:07 ET (20:07 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Rio Tinto (LSE:RIO)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Rio Tinto (LSE:RIO)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024