Rio Tinto announced that the start-up date of Serbia's lithium mine will be postponed by one year to 2027.

Multinational mining giant Rio Tinto postponed the first output of its lithium mine project in Serbia by a year to 2027 in its fourth-quarter production report on Tuesday (January 18).

Rio Tinto blamed the delay on government delays in key approvals and private protests over environmental issues. "with regard to the Jadar lithium borate project in Serbia, the company is in the process of revising the mining schedule due to delays in the approval of the mining site license (EFL)," the company said in the report.

Mining site license (EFL) is a key approval leading to mining and a prerequisite for environmental impact assessment (EIA) as a consulting process.

"in the current situation, it is expected that after obtaining all relevant approvals, permits and licenses, the first batch of output available for sale will be no earlier than 2027," Rio Tinto said. " At the last forecast, the deadline was 2026.

Rio Tinto's Jadar project in Serbia, located in the western Jadar Valley near the city of Loznita in Machiwa state, will produce battery-grade lithium carbonate, a key material for mass production of batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage devices. The capacity of the project will also make Rio Tinto the largest lithium supplier in Europe for at least the next 15 years. In addition to lithium, the project will also produce borates, which can be used to produce solar panels and wind turbines.

The mine faces opposition from environmental groups and local communities for fear of damage to the environment, forcing the city government of Loznita to cancel plans to allocate land to the facility last year.

Lithium Mine and Djokovic

Rio Tinto is a multinational mineral and resources group with mining areas in many countries and is widely believed to be an Anglo-Australian company. This has made Djokovic's recent visa issue not only a bitter feud between Australia and Serbia, but also a "cloud" over the Jadar project.

Novak Djokovic, the world's first man in men's tennis, has been deprived of his visa by the Australian government for the second time, meaning the "nine-crown" and defending champion of the Australian Open will not be able to compete in the 2022 Australian Open. Djokovic has great influence in Serbia, which has rapidly worsened the public's impression of Australia.

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Burnabic told the media earlier this month that "after the general election in April, it will be decided whether Rio Tinto can continue to develop the mine." The cancellation of Djokovic's visa is likely to happen quickly.

It is worth mentioning that Djokovic made clear his support for domestic protests against Rio Tinto's Jadar project on Instagram last month, when he believed that the natural environment should be protected from damage, according to Reuters.