the Serbian government’s decision to cancel the Jadar proposal.

*

Joint Statement – Press Release

Mars Sa Drine^[1] and Extinction Rebellion Serbia

Belgrade/Serbia 09.05.2022 – At the Rio Tinto AGM in Australia on 5 May 2022, the outgoing Chairman of the Board, Mr. Simon Thompson stated that “we very much hope that we will be able to discuss all of the options with the government of Serbia now the elections are out of the way.”^[2]

This statement undermines the Serbian people who stood their ground in the streets in 2021 against Rio Tinto. Their voice was reflected by the government’s decision on January 20 2022 to annul the Special Purpose Spatial Plan, Jadar; the legal basis for Rio Tinto’s project and all subsequent permits, including procedure to obtain the environmental permit. Prime Minister Ana Brnabic stated that “Everything has been annulled. This means we’ve met the demands of environmental protests and have put a full stop on Rio Tinto in Serbia.”^[3]

What’s more, over 37,000 notarized signatures have been gathered for a national citizen’s initiative against lithium and borate mining in just 20 days. Initiators will present the bill to parliament after the summer recess. Along with an existing petition of over 290,000 signatures, this shows overwhelming public support against lithium and borate mining. With this in mind Mr. Thompson’s statement is ever more displaced as it comes in total disregard for the will of the people. The Prime Minister herself said: “With this act, everything to do with Project Jadar and Rio Tinto is over. It’s finished.”^[4]

This press release contains exclusively the official government decree in Serbian^[5] and English^[6] languages, along with the cancellation of the EIA procedure.^[7]

“Serbia’s effort to transition into a politically stable country that finally works for and listens to its people, will be jeopardized if companies like Rio Tinto believe they can undermine democracy by flexing their muscles and trying to re-introduce nepotism. The government made its choice: it listened to the people.”  Bojana  Novakovic, Mars Sa Drine Collective

“Serbia will not be used to absolve the EU’s or Rio Tinto’s guilt for not having acted on climate change. The people of Serbia have recognized that food and water are more important than the profits of a multinational corporation, inconvenient as that may be for Rio Tinto.” Milica D. Zavrnot Extinction Rebellion Serbia

^[1] Marš sa Drine is a national campaign against the mining of lithium and borates in Serbia. We are a collective of over 20 NGOs, citizens, independent experts, activists from Serbia and beyond, united to protect the Jadar Valley and the rest of Serbia from the devastating effects of mining on fertile soil. Our mission is to support locals who protect their land against lithium & borate exploitation and the forced relocation that entails. We work based on social, environmental, economic and legal principles.

^[2] https://www.reuters.com/business/rio-tinto-keen-restart-talks-stalled-serbian-lithium-project-2022-05-05/

^[3] https://www.politika.rs/sr/clanak/497517/Brnabic-Ukinut-prostorni-plan-za-Jadar-i-sve-ostale-odluke

^[4] https://www.politika.rs/sr/clanak/497517/Brnabic-Ukinut-prostorni-plan-za-Jadar-i-sve-ostale-odluke

^[5] Serbian Version: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/drlsu1460xfj9fz/AAAd9wN4OM71zRvwxnWiFVu5a?dl=0

^[6] English Version: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ztygwe99pyy4whp/AACCyDorgSuQ88laOkLns5TEa?dl=0

^[7] https://novaekonomija.rs/vesti-iz-zemlje/poni%C5%A1tena-sva-re%C5%A1enja-ministarstva-za-projekat-jadar

Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia

Nemanjina 11, 11000 Belgrade,

Belgrade, 01 October 2021

Dear Madam Prime Minister,

As organizers of conference “Project Jadar – what is known”, held in the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SASA) on May 6-7, 2021.  – based upon the analysis of data presented by participants, on-site discussions and additional data later presented by Government of Serbia and Rio Sava Exploration (main Contractor/Investor), a subsidiary of Rio Tinto Corporation, i.e., parties involved in negotiation over possible mining concession for exploitation of mineral Jadarit – we submitted a written Communication to the respective Ministers of the Ministry of Mining & Energy (two) and to the Ministry of Environmental Protection (one).  In both cases, and after a delay, we received (enclosed) replies not (only) from the addressed Ministries, but from the Contractor/Investor, Rio Sava Exploration.  

Being unable to establish contact with experts from the respective Ministries, responsible for providing critical evaluation of the submitted project, and for establishing bona fide “pros” and “cons” regarding the matter, we are, therefore, submitting this new Communication to You personally, with the intent to point out major irregularities, illogic narrative, flabbiness and neglect during the development of the “Project Jadar”, which may result in erroneous and dangerous management of water resources, mining waste and biodiversity, with likely long-lasting and detrimental consequences on human health in Radjevina and its surroundings.  

We are surprised that the Government has not made its experts available for professional discussion over certain issues.  That notwithstanding, our wish is to provide You and the respective governmental regulatory bodies with relevant fractography, and, by doing so, to contribute to a general and particular understanding of facts related to “Project Jadar”.  Therefore, please consider this Communication, and our previous submissions to the above-mentioned Ministries, as a testament of our will to professionally – and in good faith – help the Government of Serbia in making right and educated decision on the issue.  

Short analysis of facts known about the “Project Jadar” 

Rio Tinto (Rio Sava Exploration), the main Contractor/Investor and a partner to Government of Serbia in negotiations over mining concession for exploitation of mineral Jadarite, has demonstrated considerable superficiality and negligence in presenting the “Project Jadar” insofar.  The following are some of the facts pointed out in our earlier communications:

The design proposed by the Investor of the jadarite mine and its associated objects, presented in the Special Purpose Zoning Plan (SPZP) is neither compliant with the required conditions and (formal) estimations (which were obtained only after the fact), nor with the current statutes regulating water management and environmental protection.  The proposed solutions do not meet major requirements of the respective Water Management Law, with regard to establishing boundaries of water supply grounds, sanitary protection of water-supply sources, balance of technical water used in processing of ore, and the proposed waste-water treatment solutions including the release of effluents in the river Jadar. 

Dumping (deposition) of mining waste on the water supply grounds is wrong technical solution.  The Contractor/Investor still does not have veritable chemical analyses of compounds expected to be in mining waste, neither it has approved patent for their elimination.  The base for establishing future effects of any technology should be detailed analysis of the production process in semi-industrial scale.  It should be stressed, too, the Contractor/Investor does not have necessary experience in lithium extraction from the raw ore.  

The pressing issue is deposition of mining waste on water-supply grounds.  Two dumping grounds are planned; one within the mining/processing facility with the capacity of 5.5 million cubic meters of mining waste, and the other for processing waste, on the plateau between rivers Jadar and Likodra in Krupanj municipality, with surface area of 167ha, which is expected to grow up to the amount of 57 million tons over the period of 40 years.  There is a substantial error in the Special Purpose Zoning Plan, where the location of that second dumping ground is mistakenly described as being in the valley of Stavica river, and with technical proposal for building a barrier dam and auscultation wells there.  Without recognizing a mistake, and quoting Stavica’s known flooding propensity, the Investor proposes a third dumping ground (4A-North), to be located above mine itself, and close to the industrial/processing facility.  This “third” (erroneous) dumping ground does not meet ANY of the criteria used in designing such a facility, because its location is planned immediately above the mine, i.e., along the fault line with significant ground subsidence, in the basin of river Korenita – known for wide seasonal level variations – and in close proximity to existing human settlements.  All the above just adds to the confusion regarding waste dumping grounds, which appear to be the most limiting element in planning the mine.  This is in large part because there is no a comprehensive technical approach to possible breakdown of dumping grounds, the approach which should provide for the prevention of total degradation of the river Jadar, and the protection of both the Jadar, regional water-supply sources of Drina alluvium and, consequently, rivers Drina and Sava and water supply sources of villages, towns and cities situated downstream.  

 In addition to problems in planning listed above, over the course of the SASA Conference “Project Jadar – what is known” the public also learned that in river Jadar valley, in the planned Special Purpose Zone, both the grounds and the water are already polluted and that the underground water is not suitable for human consumption, neither – based upon some parameters – suitable for agricultural use.  This condition is, in large part, the consequence of leakage of spoil from the dumping ground of antimony mine “Stolice” during 2014 production season.  It should be noted that the proposed project “Jadar” just “adds insult to injury” without any attempt to remedy such a bleak condition, by claiming that exploitation and processing of Jadarite will not additionally aggravate the existing, already miserable state of both agricultural grounds and underground waters!

For a long time the investor has claimed that it held a patent for jadarite processing, thus misleading the public.  Only after several reprimands in media (and during the Conference) have the investor changed the word “patent” with “patent application”! As of September 20, 2021, that alleged application has not yet been approved and made public. In its statements/communications (received by us through Government’s Ministry of Mining & Energy) the Investor states that “company is ready, i.e., plans additional tests, for obtaining data to decisively establish whether the mining and processing waste contains arsenopyrite, or not – although earlier tests did not indicate its presence”.  The essence of this quotation, along with others in our communications to the above-mentioned Ministries, is that the Investor has not definitively established the chemical composition of the compounds/minerals in the jadarit ore and mining/processing waste – containing arsenic, although estimates for arsenic only go – over 40 years of exploitation – to about 6,000 tones in 57 million tones of waste.  The quoted amount of arsenic is calculated as the amount of elementary arsenic; the amount of waste carrying various chemical compounds containing arsenic, will be significantly higher.  That fact is instrumental for any estimate or anticipation of waste toxicity and its negative impact on biodiversity and human population. For details on the above, please see our earlier Communication to MM&E, enclosed to this letter.  

At this moment, the project “Jadar” is, from the standpoint of technology, insufficiently transparent.  As we stated earlier, the base for establishing future effects of any technology should be a detailed analysis of the production process in its full desired capacity, and the expected results.  At present, there is no firmly established material balance of the project as a whole.  It is imperative that all the project elements serving as a base for completing a comprehensive Study of Project’s Impact, be fully transparent.  Laws of the Republic of Serbia regulating this matter demand the statement from the Investor that the facility proposed to be built, meets the best available techniques in the field.  Also, there should be a document prepared, upon the analysis of a semi-industrial production facility, to address comprehensive control and prevention of pollution.  This is not mandated by Law, yet we consider it as necessary element in the process of planning.  Such a document should eliminate – and forbid – any possibility of releasing polluting compounds into natural recipients.  Given the size, scope and strategic importance of the proposed Project Jadar, the professional community, pundits, and general public should have an active role in designing and achieving the sustainable agreement with the Investor

We would like to focus your attention on necessary verification of the chosen industrial procedures – please refer to quotation ”Sustainability of lithium and boron exploitation can be assessed (only) after the development of the technological project, Environmental Impact Study of the Complex and related documents in the field of Integrated Pollution Control and Prevention” from the SASA “Project Jadar” conference (Prof. Dr. Željko Kamberović).  According to the estimates by experts in the field, additional testing of the whole technologic process of such extent and impact to environment, should involve 10-20,000 tons of ore concentrate.  

The need for environmental protection is being ignored

When it comes to environmental impact, it is of outmost importance to get as accurate assessment as possible of the effects, not only in the immediate vicinity of the proposed mine, but also in surrounding territories.  In early estimates of the mine’s environmental impact, there is nowhere to find the facts that within the area of the mining complex (1,850 ha to 2,300 ha) everything that constitutes the current natural environment (arable land, forest, orchards, infields, and yards) will be destroyed and the existing population relocated.  Given such a development, it appears rather absurd to deliberate and suggest “environmental protection” because, in reality, this is a plain destruction with unforeseen and ignored long-term negative consequences.  Although Investor’s representatives keep claiming that everything will be done in accordance with the highest ecologic standards, it remains unspecified to which of those “highest standards” they refer to? We do not hold a high hope that the incoming Feasibility Study will present any new data on prospective treatment of run-off waters from the mine’s waste heaps, i.e., waters in which the arsenic compounds were positively identified.  We, therefore, want to stress again that, based upon what has been presented insofar, it is highly unlikely that the Investor will prevent the release of toxic and dangerous compounds into the Macva’s underground water horizon, which is estimated to be the largest drinking water-supply source in whole of Serbia.  It is important to remember that the mining waste heaps will stay there for centuries, slowly releasing – if not decisively contained – toxic compounds and, thus, making the water of the whole region, toxic! It should be noted the Investor has already seriously compromised the integrity of the local environments, since some of its exploratory wells (boreholes) keep leaking toxic waters that destroyed agricultural crops on adjoining arable lands.  Opening of the proposed mine will only aggravate the problem by multiple orders of magnitude.  Therefore, we expect – with keen professional and scientific curiosity – the incoming Investor’s “Study on Environmental Impact of Project Jadar” in hope that some of our worst fears will, somehow, be rebutted by some new and yet unknown to public, arguments and solutions conspicuously missing from our exchanges with both the Ministry of Mining & Energy and Ministry of Environmental Protection.  Our insight into available public sources strongly indicate that the Investor does not have necessary experience and expertise in processing of lithium ore, which is why we demand the proof of their previous positive mining practice in extracting lithium carbonate from various lithium-containing ores.  

We would like to take this opportunity to elaborate on recent advances of technologies for energy storage, which are not based upon the use of lithium.  There is a growing interest of European Union with regard to use of so-called “green hydrogen”, generated through electrolysis of water using electricity from renewable energy sources.  The use of hydrogen as primary fuel for motor vehicles has become reality and practice throughout the world.  Germany itself plans to have 14 million passenger cars and up to 30% of all trucks powered by hydrogen or hydrogen-generated electricity by 2030.  (https://www.  agora-verkehrswende.  de/en/publications/towards-a-climate-neutral-germany-by-2045-summary/ ).  

In addition to sodium-ion batteries (Company: Faradion, CATL), which are quickly becoming an alternative to lithium-based batteries, a new generation of graphene batteries may, as well, be a convincing and effective alternative to lithium-ion devices and push the later out the market.  Whereas lithium-ion batteries have specific energy up to 150-200 Wh/kg, graphene batteries of equal size have much higher specific energy that go up to 1,000 Wh/kg.  In addition to operating within a wider temperature range (-5°C to +60°C), Samsung, Huawei and Panasonic graphene batteries charge 5-fold faster, have at least 50% higher storing capacity, 25% smaller carbon footprint and are about 50% lighter than their Li-Ion counterparts.  They also last much longer; as opposed to Li-ion batteries that can be fully charged for about 500 cycles, graphene ones last at least 1,500 cycles.  They are already used in mobile chargers (manufacturer: RealGraphene, USA).  International markets will soon see cell phones with graphene batteries (instead of Li-ion polymer), shortly to be followed with high-capacity graphene batteries for electric cars, where their better thermic conductivity will make them much more reliable in exploitation than their Li-ion competitors.  Low reliability of Li-ion batteries and some of their intrinsic shortcomings such as propensity for spontaneous self-ignition, are being some of their recent recalls.  https://media.  gm.  com/media/us/en/gm/home.  detail.  html/ content/Pages/news/us/en/2021/aug/0820-bolt.  html; https://www.  b92.  net/automobili/vesti.  php? yyyy=2021&mm=09&nav_id=1924302.  

Was the Project “Jadar” presented transparently to Serbian public, and is it of public interest (beneficial) for the Republic of Serbia?

The project “Jadar” is not being realized transparently, and in accordance with existing norms, procedures and standards concerning availability of critical information to general public, and public’s participation in the processes of planning and decision-making.  Special Purpose Zoning Plan for exploitation and processing of mineral Jadarite (project “Jadar”) approved by the Government of Serbia in March 2020, was the first publicly available document providing at least a partial insight into the real scope and possible consequences of project “Jadar” realization.  It was only after the SASA conference “Project Jadar – what is known”, held in May 2021, where the representatives of the Investor disclosed a fraction of exploration results, analyses, and proposed solutions, that the conclusion was reached regarding project’s numerous shortcomings and ambiguities and – as a consequence – unacceptable risks.  

Significant problem lies in the fact the Government of Serbia did not (as required by Law on Public Private Partnership and Concessions) establish a professional impartial committee made of independent experts, to follow the realization of the Project and participate in planning of exploratory actions, completion of a feasibility study, and in the processes of evaluation and justification of the Project as a whole.  Such a professional committee would be responsible for timely dissemination – to general public and interested professionals – of true and verifiable information regarding the Project, particularly about its positive aspects as well as about possible impact to environment and public health.  Instead of doing so, the Government of Serbia surrendered all of those planning and developmental tasks to the Investor, who, understandably so, adjusted and designed the Project in accordance to its business goals and interests.  

The investor claims to have at its disposal significant resources and top-notch consultant teams; that it has undertaken a wide scope examinations in the river Jadar valley since 2011, and that since December 2016. has worked continuously on completing planning and technical documentation.  However, within that time period, the Investor has not been able to complete – and present to the public – any earlier feasibility study with the long-term plans of jadarite exploitation, or a draft projects providing elements that would enable analysis and evaluation of the possible environmental impact.  Quite to the contrary, during all that time the Investor was providing information to the interested public, rather selectively and incompletely.  This may be the only project of this scope and importance, where significant and relevant technical problems are being debated almost exclusively through releases by the PR office of the Investor, and, sporadically, through newspaper articles and printed flyers.  

It should be emphasized that all exploratory results and other data concerning the environment and public health, must be publicly accessible and not be treated as the proprietary Investor’s possession.  It is, also, unacceptable that State Universities and research Institutes, which are doing exploration and analyses on behalf of the Investor, first sign nondisclosure agreements regarding all the data obtained in the process, and then seek special permission to make some of those data available to public.  

The plan for exploitation which is described in “Feasibility Study for Exploitation of Underground Deposits of Lithium and Boron” completed in 2020 by the Faculty of Geology and Mining in Belgrade, anticipates that, in the first phase of exploitation from 2023 to 2083, a total of 64 million tons of ore will be excavated, which is roughly 40% of the 158 million tons of established reserves.  The Rio Sava Exploration Company (the Investor), in that first phase, intends to use the most accessible deposits of highest quality and concentration whereas, paradoxically, funds needed for protection and development of environment are reduced to a bare minimum and, practically, excluded from the investment plans?! Such an approach will, undoubtedly, guarantee maximum efficacy of investment and high rate of returns, but will have detrimental effects on local human population.  This, for sure, is not the public interest claimed in recently adopted and approved Special Purpose Zonning Plan.  

Serious deliberations of the project “Jadar” should realize and consider the total costs and benefits of this undertaking and assess the profitability of the project for the State and not only for the Investor.  This means that the project “Jadar” should include capital investment into preservation and development of the environment, and into development of local economy, as compensation for exploited local resources.  Methodology for calculating such compensations is well known and widely used in all developed countries.  It appears that the Investor did an excellent job in learning our nation’s traditionally inappropriate and sloppy approach to environment, and that it is taking advantage of it.  We are, therefore, rather convinced that the Investor is imposing its will and interest upon the Government of Serbia by running the project in such a nontransparent way, by taking preparatory actions without meeting all of the conditions and obtaining necessary opinions and consents, without a critical recourse to Special Purpose Zoning Plan and by partial and incomplete disclosure of the production process details.  

Therefore, we the undersigned propose to the Government of Serbia to [1] establish and introduce a definition of hazards to environment, public health, arable land, biodiversity, waters of rivers Jadar, Sava and Danube, Macva as a whole, arsenic in waters and in the ground, etc., [2] make official assessment of all the damage that may result from the Project, [3] define and establish methodology by which pollution and damage to the environment is assessed, measured, and followed, [4] request and obtain a binding consent from the Investor for compensating all the damage resulting from the Project and [5] provide necessary financial instruments and collateral guaranties that will secure unconditional and unambiguous payments for any damage caused by the Investor.  

We, also, propose to the Government of Serbia that its experts to pay special attention to the credibility of the Investor, and to scrupulously, and to the detail, analyze any proposal by Rio Tinto Company (Rio Sava Exploration) concerning the technology to be used in the process, given all the examples presented above of Company’s unreliable practices.  

With that said, we remain, Dear Madam Prime Minister,

Sincerely Yours

Organizing Committee of SASA Conference “Project Jadar – What is known?”

Vladimir Stevanovic, full member of SASA

Bogdan Solaja, full member of SASA

Velimir Radmilovic, corresponding member of SASA

In collaboration with Veljko Dimitrijevic M.Eng., Dragana Djordjevic, Ph.D., and Prof. Dr. Ratko Ristic.

CRIMINAL CHARGES 

Against:

1.     Rio Sava Exploration 

2.     SPL

3.     Brezjak Petrol 

4.     Grafo Loznica

5.     More N.N. legal representatives and people in charge (?)

Re: criminal act of Environmental Pollution / Failure in taking measures to protect the environment / Violation of the environment  (all of these contain references to ARTICLE numbers but I am guessing you don’t need those)

Reasons:

–       On January 25^th, 2021 In Gornja Nedeljica – municipality of Loznica, near the river Jadar, on land plot no.101/2. At the location of the drainage canal to the river Jadar in case of flood is situated, the company acted contrary to the permits for conducting research works, by blocking and burying the canal for water drainage and flood defense with rubble and waste, and then placed a concrete pipe in it without the approval of the authorities, thus destroying the water management facility that serves primarily to protect against floods if the river Jadar floods and to prevent water from spilling into fields and households,

·       Here is a link to the video of that incident:

·       They did this in order to create a temporary road for their trucks to pass over. 

–       On January 25^th, 2021. In Gornja Nedeljica – municipality of Loznica, near the river Jadar, on plot no.101/2. During research work, the company acted contrary to the permits for conducting research. The material that was taken out of the ground, for which there is reasonable suspicion to believe that it contains dangerous substances that would damage the environment, was left unsecured and spilled over the field/s. On that occasion, due to rain, the extracted material melted, spilled and polluted the surrounding fields and watercourse. 

–       During 2020 and January 2021, on several occasions in a manner contrary to that specified in the Law on Roads and Traffic Rules, they performed emergency transport of heavy vehicles, unaccompanied by police officers, by order of the first defendant (the company). This transport was undertaken  by a truck owned by the company “SPL” with several axles of weight over 20 tons, which were loaded with machines for exploration work weighing over 30 tons. They were driving through uncategorized roads of Gornja Nedeljica and Brezjak, and on which occasion they crossed the bridge in Gornja Nedeljica, over which the transport of heavy machinery was prohibited, and by that, they caused damage and destruction of uncategorized roads and the bridge. 

Here is a video to show you the footage of those trucks: 

–       During 2018.and 2019, on several occasions, the defendants organized a transport of wastewater and materials generated during the exploration works to the city landfill of the city of Loznica, in a manner contrary to the Law on Transport of Dangerous Goods, Environmental Law, with the help of the company “Brezjak Petrol” owned by Dragan Tomic from Brezjak and the company “Grafo Loznica”, owned by Nela Jovanovic from Loznica, contrary to the permits for exploration works, as evidenced by the recorded data on entering the city landfill, by which they endangered the safety and health of people and led to pollution of the environment to such an extent that its elimination requires a longer period and high expenses.

–       During 2019, in front of the local community of Brezjak, they unloaded a large amount of waste that is dangerous for the environment and contains parts of samples from the soil of different chemical composition. The mentioned material was later taken away from that place, after reports from the locals.

Note – for any questions about chemicals you can call Dr. Dragana Djordjevic, she will provide you with a ton of info from the science community, as well as info on hers and her colleagues independent sampling and analysis. She is on the contact list you have in the PDF. She’s also the scientist who was for the project until she went to an open seminar, asked questions, and realized the company had inadequate answers, with very dangerous working plans.

–       In the area of the local community of Gornja Nedeljica, on plot no.259, owned by Jelica Bozic, they carried out exploration works contrary to the permits for exploration works. During the work they failed to adequately close a drill site from which, on the day of filing this criminal charge, the wastewater, which contains dangerous substances, was still spilling, and which remained improperly unsealed while polluting the environment, including groundwater, wells and field, which was ascertained by the Institute of Public Health, dated 17.05.2013, in which the expert opinion states that the sample does not comply with the Regulations given in the test report, and recommends closing the well, which was not done. 

–       In 2021, they encouraged residents of Gornja Nedeljica, from whom they had previously bought land, forests and houses, to carry out illegal logging by pointing out that no license or permit or registration  is required for logging. They carried out illegal logging of a large number of trees and then sold these trees to the company “Jare prom” from Lipnicki Sor, causing damage to the environment and the locals who still live in Gornja Nedeljica. The company “Srbija Sume” (Serbia Forests) also acted on the above-mentioned event, stating numerous irregularities, documenting them and filing criminal charges against the perpetrators, but not against the instigators. 

–       The defendants committed these criminal acts as co-perpetrators, acting intentionally, aware that their act was prohibited.