Jadar Included among EU’s 13 Strategic Critical Mineral Projects outside of Union

Gornje Nedeljice (BETAPHOTO/SASA DJORDJEVIC)

The European Commission adopted on June 4 the initial list of 13 strategic critical raw material projects outside of the Union, on which the Jadar project in Serbia is included.

The strategic projects are intended to diversify the EU’s supply sources and increase economic security, and incentivize the creation of local value in third countries, the European Commission has stated.

One of the accompanying documents read that the Jadar project in Serbia was being promoted by the Rio Tinto company via its local subsidiary Rio Sava Exploration, with the aim of contributing to the supply of lithium (for batteries) and boron (for metallurgy). This initiative, adopted at the end of March, contributes to the list of 47 strategic projects, the goal of which is to incentivize domestic capacities for strategic raw materials, strengthen the European raw materials’ value chain and diversify the sources of supply.

“A total of 60 strategic projects will contribute to the competitiveness of the EU’s industry, especially the sectors of electro-mobility, renewable energy, defense and aviation. The projects are the first result of the implementation of the Critical raw Materials Act, adopted in may 2024,” stated the Commission.

Of the 13 strategic projects, seven are in Canada and the rest in Greenland, Kazakhstan, Norway, Serbia, Ukraine and Zambia, i.e. in countries with which the EU has strategic partnerships in the field of raw materials value chains.