BELGRADE - Mining group Rio Tinto welcomed a Serbian court ruling on Thursday that overturns a government decision in 2022 to revoke its initial planning permission to develop a lithium mine in the country.
The Serbian Constitutional Court said the government had "overstepped the limits of its competence" by ruling against the mine's so-called spatial plan permit and said the decision was unconstitutional.
If developed, the Jadar lithium project in Western Serbia could cover 90% of Europe’s current lithium needs and help to make the company a leading lithium producer.
"Rio Tinto welcomes the decision of the Constitutional Court in Serbia," the company said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
"We continue to believe the Jadar Project has the potential to be a world-class lithium-borates asset that could act as a catalyst for the development of other industries and thousands of jobs for the current and future generations in Serbia."
The government in January 2022 had revoked Rio Tinto's permit defining what would be the mining area for the $2.4 billion lithium project following protests organised by environmental campaigners.
Lithium, largely used in batteries for electric vehicles (EV) and mobile devices, is regarded as a critical material by many major economies.
On Thursday several hundred protesters gathered in front of the Constitutional Court building to demand a halt to the lithium exploration, saying it is bad for the environment.