Australian mining giant Rio Tinto confirmed on Tuesday delays in the licencing process in Serbia have pushed back commercial production schedule at its planned Jadar lithium project by a year, Kallanish reports.

The $2.4 billion lithium-borate project near Loznica, western Serbia, has faced intense opposition from environmentalists and local citizens who warn its development will harm water, soil and air in the region. Opponents have been calling for the government to withdraw its support to the project and Rio Tinto to abandon its investment plan in street protests.

“As a result of delays in the approval of the Exploitation Field Licence (EFL), which is a prerequisite to publish the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and commence the consultation process, we are revising development timelines. Based on current estimates and subject to receiving all relevant approvals, permits and licences, first saleable production is expected to be no earlier than 2027,” the company said in its Q4 production update. The previous timeframe was 2026.

In a first official comment after the protests and reports that the Serbian government will review its support to the development, Rio Tinto said both the feasibility study and the EIA studies are progressing.

“We fully understand the concerns amongst some Serbian stakeholders about environmental impacts and we will continue to engage to demonstrate the project has developed mitigation solutions in the project plan,” the company adds.

The Jadar project is planned to produce around 58,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate at full capacity, previously targeted in 2029. On a cumulative basis, it would produce around 2.3 million t of the battery raw material over the expected 40 years of mine life. Construction was set to start this year.

Rio Tinto has said that up until mid-2021, it had carried out 12 environmental studies and over 23,000 analyses of air and water. Its development plans include an underground mine, a beneficiation processing plant and associated infrastructure and equipment. Electric haul trucks would also be used to reduce the project’s carbon footprint.