Rio Tinto Confirms Having Submitted Jadar for EU Strategic Projects’ Contest

Rio Tinto (BETAPHOTO/Green patrol/DS)

The Rio Tinto company has confirmed that it had submitted its lithium excavation project Jadar for the strategic projects’ contest, announced by the European Commission last year, the European Western Balkans (EWB) portal reported on March 26.

The contest is part of the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), which recognizes the strategic raw materials that are crucial for the success of the green and digital transition, and defines strategic projects which contribute to the stability of their supply.

This public contest was also open for projects outside the European Union, and the European Commission announced the list of selected strategic projects for the EU territory on March 25. Projects outside of the EU will be selected at a later date, the Rio Tinto told the portal EWB, replying to a question about whether the Jadar project had been submitted to the European Commission for obtaining the status of “strategic project.”

In July 2024, the European Commission declared for EWB that neither Rio Tinto, nor any other company could submit a project to the European Commission for obtaining a strategic status “without the prior approval of the state whose territory the project would be located on.”