Vucic: We will build most successful lithium battery factory

Billions of dollars would remain in Serbia

"We are looking for a way to solve the situation with the (mineral) jadarite, build one of the most successful lithium battery factories and find a way to obligate those who get the right to do that, to work with us," said Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

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According to him, that would mean "literally billions more for our revenues."

"Special technology is needed, we will also make lithium carbonate, as a special raw material. We would become and make a huge difference for everyone else," said Vucic after a meeting with directors of Serbia's public companies which lasted two hours.

Earlier, during a visit to Loznica, Vucic said that we had "given away for free" lithium deposits in the vicinity of this town, that is, the right to explore them.

"That makes me want to crawl out of my own skin. Instead of having an electric car factory here now... We are begging Rio Tinto and the Chinese, sit down, let's start something, we've lost years, let's do something because this area will flourish," he said at the time.

More and more countries want a piece of the lithium cake, aware of its importance for the future. Russia, Chile, Britain are also working on exploration...

Otherwise, Serbia has the largest deposits of lithium in Europe, while the lithium battery usage potential is huge globally. Lithium is one of the most sought after alkali metals and raw materials in the world.

This importance comes due to the growth in the electric industry and a significant drop in the prices of components for production of renewable energy.

We visited the drilling sites, see how lithium is extracted in Serbian villages:

(Telegraf Biznis)