Rio Tinto shelves Serbian lithium project

RIO Tinto has suspended work on its $2.95bn Jadar lithium project in Serbia as the mining company’s new CEO pursues a strategy of cost reduction and portfolio simplification.The world’s second-largest miner confirmed this week it had placed the development into care and maintenance mode, citing a lack of progress on permits needed to advance the high-grade lithium deposit towards production, said Bloomberg News on Thursday.“Given the lack of progress in permitting, we are not in a position to sustain the same level of spend and resource allocation,” the company said in an internal communication seen by the newswire.The project has encountered sustained opposition from local communities despite containing significant reserves of the battery metal. Serbian authorities have repeatedly delayed regulatory approvals, leaving the mine’s future uncertain, said Bloomberg.Simon Trott, who took over as CEO in August, is reshaping Rio Tinto by concentrating resources on nearer-term growth opportunities. He has reorganised the business into three divisions covering iron ore, aluminium with lithium, and copper.The decision follows Rio’s $6.7bn acquisition of Arcadium Lithium last year, which brought three lithium developments already under construction. The miner is also advancing its Rincon project in Argentina.However, lithium markets remain depressed, with prices roughly 85% below their 2022 peak due to oversupply.“They’ve only got so much capital they can allocate and they’ve allocated quite a bit of capital to lithium already through the acquisition of Arcadium,” Glyn Lawcock of Barrenjoey Markets said.Rio Tinto’s capital expenditure will reach its highest level in more than a decade this year. Further restructuring measures are expected when Trott presents his strategy at a capital markets event in London on 4 December.The post Rio Tinto shelves Serbian lithium project appeared first on Miningmx.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com