Rio Tinto’s response to incorrect information about the Jadar Project presented in the daily newspaper Danas
In the article "Since the Termination of the Project, Rio Tinto Has Spent Around 250 million Euros", published on May 14, the daily newspaper Danas presented numerous falsehoods, insinuations and serious accusations without any evidence. Rio Tinto is again seeking to have the facts to be published to refute the allegations in accordance with the law.
Unsubstantiated claims, misinterpretations and deliberate malicious falsehoods about Rio Tinto’s financial operations in Serbia are part of the ongoing misinformation campaign against the Jadar Project.
Rio Tinto is an international company that operates on three different stock exchanges globally, and all of our financial statements are publicly available and subject to regular audits by renowned international audit firms.
We strongly reject any malicious claims and allegations that the data from our reports represent anything other than a regular financial report on the company’s normal day-to-day operations. We take such allegations very seriously and will use all available legal means to protect the company’s reputation.
The statement "since the cancellation of the project, Rio Tinto has spent 250 million euros" as well as the statement that "of those several hundred million euros, 92 were spent on the feasibility study" is an arbitrary, deliberate malicious misrepresentation of the company’s financial reports. Leading international and domestic engineering and consulting firms have been involved in the preparation of the project design, including feasibility studies. This is standard practice for large-scale infrastructure projects. The way Danas interpreted the company’s financial operations is incorrect and irresponsible.
As we have stated on several occasions, including the statements reported by the daily newspaper Danas, the preparation of the studies, after the Jadar Project was stopped by the decision of the Government of Serbia, are part of previous internal commitments to complete the studies. These activities are in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Serbia.
The statement that "Rio Sava also received money from the European Commission" is incorrect and untrue. The Jadar project is fully financed by Rio Tinto. No funds for the implementation of the Jadar Project were provided by the EU or the "Vector" project.
The "Vector" project is a scientific initiative that was launched in order to achieve the EU's plans for decarbonization and reduction of greenhouse gases by at least 55% by 2030 and is focused primarily on critical raw materials that, as is well known, play a key role in the green energy transition. The Vector project is co-financed by the EU through the "Horizon Europe" research and innovation program and Great Britain through the "UK Research and Innovation" program.