SERBIAN STUDENTS ANALYZE THE JADAR PROJECT: Here’s what worries them the most!

Students from the Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy at the University of Belgrade have analyzed the Jadar project and expressed concern on several points, stating that “the impact on the environment, including rivers, groundwater, air, and soil, would be significant and extend far beyond the planned boundaries of the project.” “The question is, who could guarantee that such a risky project would be carried out safely, and whose responsibility would it be if something went wrong?” they state.

Students in the Plenum of the Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy (TMF) in Belgrade have written a public statement expressing their concern about the announced Jadar project. “As future engineers of technology and metallurgy, master engineers of technology and metallurgy, and doctors of science, we feel a collective responsibility to publicly express our concern about the Jadar project of the Rio Tinto company,” the statement says.

According to TMF students, the Jadar project is problematic for several reasons, one of which is the method of extraction.

“Unlike other methods of lithium extraction, which are based on the evaporation of concentrated mineral waters, or brine evaporation, the method of extracting lithium carbonate from jadarite ore involves the use of strong, concentrated acids with a purity of over 95% (H2SO4, >95%) at temperatures of around 90°C, making this process very inefficient in terms of resource consumption – from 320,000 tons of sulfuric acid and energy sources – fossil fuels per year,” the students warn.

“Waste with toxic elements”

By analyzing the Jadar project, students point out that it leads to an absurdity, according to which the justification for the use of lithium-ion batteries lies in the use of electrochemical energy sources, as low-carbon technologies, while the lithium processing process itself creates large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2).

They remind that lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles are only a storage of electrical energy, not a source of it.

“If these batteries were charged with electricity obtained from the combustion of fossil fuels, CO2 emissions would not be reduced compared to conventional cars, but would only be hidden from consumers. At the same time, the land around the Jadar River, which consists of forests, can assimilate significant amounts of CO2 annually, and together with the arable land of agricultural crops, this amount is further increased,” the students state.

The students then expressed doubts as to whether the “Jadar project” truly represents a renewable and low-carbon alternative.

They write that the Jadar River valley contains only about 1% of the world’s total lithium reserves, and that the area is home to about 20,000 people, who rely mainly on the agricultural industry.

“The implementation of the project would also endanger the employment of local people. By degrading the quality of the soil, which is considered the most fertile and most suitable for growing crops in Serbia, the entire economy and agriculture of Serbia are endangered,” TMF students believe, emphasizing that the Jadar project would be a unique case in the entire world as the first lithium mine on populated and very fertile land.

A special problem is the problem of waste. Students say that the treated ore will produce 4.93 times more boron hydroxide than the primary product, lithium carbonate:

“In addition to the aforementioned, the aforementioned extraction process accumulates a large amount of mining waste containing toxic elements, such as arsenic, and whose further processing is not precisely defined. The concentration of boron that will be present in rivers exceeds the recently prescribed values by law.”

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The permissible concentration of boron increased fourfold

Academics from the TMF remind the public that this limit has been changed and increased by as much as four times (!) by the new Regulation that came into force after the Jadar project was initially considered.

“Despite the fact that certain concentrations of boron can have a stimulatory effect on plant growth, a high concentration in soil and water has an inhibitory effect. Increased boron intake in the human body can lead to kidney and liver damage, and in extreme cases, death,” they add.

Is lithium a long-term valuable raw material?

Students remind that by implementing the project, 206.5 hectares of forest and 173 hectares of arable land would be destroyed, and the impact on the environment, including rivers, groundwater, air, and soil, would be significant and extend far beyond the planned boundaries of the project implementation.

They warn that the contamination of soil and rivers with dangerous heavy metals, such as arsenic, and soil erosion, as consequences of the Jadar project, are in direct conflict with the principles of the RIO Convention and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the adopted Agenda 2023.

Speaking about the impact on biodiversity, they remind that the lithium mine would result in the destruction of local flora and fauna, and that of several thousand species, 145 of which are protected.

“The question that arises in the long run is the value of lithium as a raw material. Currently, batteries that do not contain lithium are under development, such as sodium-ion batteries enriched with tartrates, and it is questionable how relevant lithium-ion battery technology will be in the years to come,” the students state.

They warn that although the mining of lithium in the Jadar valley seems like enough reason for concern, additional concern is created by the history of the Rio Tinto company’s operations.

Students remind that this company has left behind countless environmental and social disasters:

“In recent years, it has repeatedly been in the media spotlight due to various accidents in mines, destruction of the cultural heritage of the countries in which they mine, causing social unrest and pollution. Some examples of such business operations by Rio Tinto can be seen in situations in Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and Madagascar.”

They question whether a company whose emissions account for about 1% of total global CO2 emissions can be a “partner” in sustainable development.

“In an atmosphere of constant disregard for expertise, we fear that the expertise of experts working on the Jadar project could be misused to give legitimacy to a risky project in the eyes of the public. We have witnessed that in our country, issues of responsibility, both moral and criminal, often remain unresolved. The question is, who could guarantee that such a risky project would be carried out safely, and whose responsibility would it be if something went wrong,” the students conclude in the plenum with TMF.