Environment Energy Mining Watch SEE|News|Secrets of dirty technology of the future lithium mine in Serbia

Secrets of dirty technology of the future lithium mine in Serbia

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21st century gold

The jadarite ore was discovered in 2004 in the “Jadar” deposit near Loznica and as such is unique in the world.

The useful components of this ore are lithium and boron, and precisely because of lithium, they are the main interest of Rio Tinto.

According to Dragana Djordjevic, who was a guest on TV Prva, she explained that lithium is exploited in the world so that

– about 70% in saltwater warehouses in South America are easy to reach

– about 24% hard rock pegmatite

While the deposit near Loznica contains 10% of the total explored lithium resources in the whole world.

Lithium is necessary for the production of lithium-ion batteries that are used for almost all devices that require charging electricity: telephones, computers, electric vehicles. These batteries have an extended life and are used for almost everything in everyday life. This is exactly the main reason why companies like Rio Tinto, but the governments of some countries are in constant search for new reserves of this “gold of the 21st century”. According to the latest data from the site mining.com, the prices of lithium have skyrocketed in 2021 by as much as 88%, which requires a huge demand for new mining of this ore. In China, the demand for lithium-iron-phosphate batteries is on the rise, which will contribute to the price of lithium continuing to rise.

Dragana Djordjevic from the Institute of Chemistry, Technology and Metallurgy, who was invited by the residents of the Macva region to present the project for exploitation by Rio Tinto, spoke on the show on TV Prva and pointed out several main “suspicious” points.

The amount of water that will be used, and why not from the Jadar river but from the Drina

She did not receive an answer to the question she asked at the official presentation of the project, how much water will be used for the excavation and extraction of lithium from jadarite, because it is a business secret. According to her, the municipal documents state that the company Rio Tinto from the Drina will take 3,000 m3 of water and cheat into the river by 50% more, which is a clear sign for it that waste and toxic substances will return to the Drina.

Margareta Milosavljević, senior advisor for environmental protection of the company Rio Tinto, responded to these allegations and pointed out that the spatial plan envisages 1000 cubic meters from the banks of the Drina, which she calls already degraded and polluted, by companies that previously extracted gravel.

Technology is still a secret

According to Dragana Djordjevic, ore rocks (such as the deposits near Loznica) require a complicated processing process with the use of a high concentration of sulfuric acid, and that brings efficiency in extracting lithium of 75%. Hydrofluoric acid is added to the process to increase efficiency. During this process, a gas is formed, silicon tetra fluoride, which is very dangerous and toxic and there is no way to prevent its emission into the atmosphere.

This practically means that the local population will be exposed to poison gas poisoning.

The senior environmental advisor of the company Rio Tinto claims that the technology for the production and processing of jadarite is unique in the world, that it will be performed in accordance with the laws of RS and the EU. He claims that sulfuric acid will not be used, but when asked what technology will be used in the Rio Tinto mine, the public remains unanswered.

Source: luftika.rs

 

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