According to Rio Tinto, Jadar in western Serbia holds one of Europe's largest reserves of lithium -- a strategically valuable metal crucial for electric vehicle battery production.
But the planned mine sparked fears for the environment and public health and weeks of protests forced the government to halt the project in late 2022.
Critics say Rio Tinto and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic have not been transparent about the process and refused to publish environmental impact reports.
In the draft environmental assessments released Thursday, Rio Tinto denounced "a broad misinformation campaign based on defamatory elements" advancing "unsubstantiated claims" that the project would harm water resources, soil, biodiversity, air quality and human health.
Aiming to assuage concerns and reset the terms of the debate, the group promised "safe, reliable, and proven technology".
A landfill would hold tightly compacted waste to mitigate the risk of water affecting the dry waste, while "multi-layer linings made of clay and synthetic materials" would prevent the contamination of groundwater, the document said.
Rio Tinto also plans to establish a "high-quality forest" to make up for the planned removal of hectares of vegetation.
In September 2023, Serbia signed a letter of intent with the European Commission for a strategic partnership in batteries and raw materials.
Prime Minister Milos Vucevic said in a televised interview on Tuesday that Serbia should discuss all development projects, including those involving lithium.
Rio Tinto says the lithium reserves in Jadar, discovered in 2004, could annually produce 58,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate, 160,000 tonnes of boron acid and 255,000 tonnes of sodium sulfate.
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