On the Jadar project
‘Healthy people and a healthy land are sacred to us’
You mentioned the Jadar Project. The issue of lithium mining is a hot topic that will likely remain in focus for a long time. How do you understand the arguments of those who oppose this project, which are mainly centred on environmental concerns?
“They have no arguments, just a dirty political campaign. The fear of jadarite is only in the eyes of the opposition manipulators and their satellites, who themselves initiated the arrival of Rio Tinto in Serbia in 2001. As before, we will examine the justification of every new project from all aspects. For us, healthy people and a healthy land are sacred, and there is no gambling with that; the condition for everything is the application of the highest ecological standards.”
Do you expect to gain more support for this lithium story as decision-makers?
“It depends solely on us how we will use all the opportunities available to us, both in mineral exploitation and in all other segments, and we will be guided solely by our Serbian interests. This distinguishes us from all those who have been attacking President Vučić and the Serbian government for days, from fake environmentalists who are fighting only for personal interests and someone’s dirty capital. The citizens of Serbia have long seen through their intentions, and I am sure they do not believe the dirty campaign they are now waging against the Jadar Project. This leadership of Serbia is doing its job seriously and approaches every project seriously and responsibly, respecting the word of experts, and will enable Serbia to use its potential in the best possible way. And we are not just talking about mining, but about the entire value chain that will generate thousands of new jobs in the mining industry and related industries, increased revenue from income taxes, various fees, larger local budgets, accelerated infrastructure development in local communities... We have no other address or backup homeland, and we will do everything to make our Serbia an even better place to live.”