According to incomplete information, on June 8th, 2004 the Republic of Serbia signed the contract with "Rio Sava Exploration" d.o.o., regarding geological surveys called "Jadar" project.
After completing the survey, as stipulated in Article 15 of the Mining Law, it was the government's responsibility to publish an advertisement and to offer the raw materials found for use by way of public auction or collecting of bids. Priority in obtaining the right of use or exploitation, pursuant to Art. 15 of the cited Law, is given to the company that carried out the surveys. If the exploitation right is acquired by another company which placed a better offer, the company that carried out the survey is in such case entitled to a refund of the funds invested. "Rio Tinto" had no objections to these conditions and was conducting survey until recently.
Probably due to the enormous importance and the expected income of several billion tens of euros to give the "Jadar" project greater legality and to dispel all doubts, the government signed a "Memorandum" in 2017 with "Rio Sava Exploration" d.o.o. and Rio Tinto Mineras Development Limited (London).
After the memorandum was signed, the Government passed a "resolution" to set up the proposed "Jadar Project Implementation Working Group", which included 28 officials (State Secretaries, Deputy Ministers, Chiefs of Staff, Advisers to the Deputy Prime Ministers, etc.). There were also appointed: General Director of "Rio Sava Exploration" d.o.o., Second Secretary of the embassy with interests, Director of the World Bank in Serbia, etc. Prof. Dr. Zorana Z. Mihajlović, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Mining and Energy, was appointed President of the aforesaid Working group.
In the following year already, the Government, with the help of the Working Group, submitted the Proposal to Amend the Law ... to parliamentary procedure for approval. This bill was 438 pages long, of which 37 pages contain the legal text, and the remaining pages contain the explanations. One month later (on April 20th, 20201) the parliament unanimously passed the proposed bill, and its Article 52 establishes the right of the right of the one who carries out the survey to - without a public tender or collection of offers: get decision on approval (permit) for the exploitation and / or the exploitation field to have the exclusive right to use and dispose of the determined reserves and / or resources; that they can assign their right to a third party ... etc. However, according to the law, the Republic will take over these rights if, for example, Rio Tinto fails to use these rights for 6 years.
Nevertheless, it seems that misunderstandings arise about the "Spatial Plan", which was approved by the Government on February 20th, 2020, where the exploitation area was determined to comprise 293.61 km2 with 22 settlements and around 19,600 inhabitants. Since "Rio Tinto" owns a smaller part of the land, and the owners of other plots do not want to sell their land, the expropriation must be carried out in the public interest, but, first of all, the citizens must vote in a referendum (e.g. the voters of the Loznica region). According to the latest amendments to the Referendum Law, which are also being challenged before the Serbian Constitutional Court, the referendum would be successful if the majority of the participating voters would vote "For" the referendum question. However, three months after the amendments to the Law on Mining and Geological Surveys were passed, the media relayed the statement made by the director of Rio Sava: “Should the referendum be negative, the company will have to take a position, we'll see what is the position of the state. There is no legal framework that prescribes that if the referendum is negative, the permits are not valid".
The unclear situation for the public, which has persisted for 17 years, is causing a stir, so some responses are being demanded from Prof. Dr. Zorana Mihajlović - Minister of Mines and Energy, Deputy Prime Minister, President of the working group for the implementation of the "Jadar" project, President of the Coordination Office for Gender Equality...
1. Is the State Attorney's Office a member of the above-mentioned Working Group and does it participate in the “Jadar” project for the purpose of exercising and protecting property rights of the Republic?
2. Was "Rio Tinto" the owner or leaseholder of the land covered by the spatial plan during the geological surveys?
3. “What is the position of the state” in the event of a negative referendum?
4. Who determines when and according to which criteria the amount of the ore rent and the amount of environmental protection compensation, which is up to 22% of the ore value in the surrounding countries, but from 1-7% in our country?
5. Has Rio Tinto filed a request pursuant to Articles 51 and 52 of the Law, which relate to obtaining an authorization?
6. Given that Rio Tinto is granted resource exploitation without public tenders or collection of bids, how is the Government going to convince Rio Tinto not export lithium, to manufacture batteries and electric cars in Serbia, etc.?
7. Who bears the costs of environmental protection after the termination of exploitation?
Democracy Development Foundation