The Serbian Economist reports that Rio Tinto Group has mothballed its $2.95bn Jadar lithium development project in Serbia, Bloomberg reported.
The project will be transferred to “care and maintenance” mode in line with plans to simplify Rio Tinto’s asset portfolio and focus on more interesting opportunities in the short term, the document said.
A company spokesman confirmed to the agency the decision to mothball Jadar, which has large lithium-rich ore reserves.
The project, which never reached the production stage, faced many problems. The Serbian government has repeatedly changed its position on the issue of granting permits to develop the mine, which was strongly opposed by local communities.
“Given the lack of progress on the issue of permits, we can no longer maintain the previous level of costs and resource allocation,” the document said.