Rio Sava Exploration d.o.o., in line with its ongoing environmental monitoring practices, commenced soil and shallow groundwater sampling activities on May 28, 2025, on company-owned land, in cooperation with the accredited laboratory of the Jaroslav Černi Institute for Water Management. The public was previously informed about these activities through the company’s website.

In the interest of full transparency, the company has informed the president of the local community council of Gornje Nedeljice, Brezjak, and Slatina about these activities. Following a request from the association “Ne damo Jadar,” conveyed through the president of the local community council of Gornje Nedeljice, Brezjak, and Slatina, Rio Sava Exploration d.o.o. granted access to the site for both the community council president and a representative of the “Ne damo Jadar” association. During this time, and upon the association’s request, a duplicate of each collected soil and water sample was provided to their representative. The representative of “Ne damo Jadar” received all samples and monitored the full day of field activities.

We regret to report that, despite the company fully meeting the association’s requests—including offering continued participation and access to samples in the coming days—the association representatives withdrew from the agreed process, refused to remain present and announced plans to block further activities, which would prevent the company from fulfilling its legal obligations on its own property.

The association cited the company’s use of the term “baseline condition” in official correspondence as the reason for their withdrawal, stating they find the term itself inappropriate.

We regret that “Ne damo Jadar” has chosen to disregard the fact that the letter clearly states the sampling is being conducted to determine the current quality of soil and water at these locations for comparative analysis with previous results, as part of routine environmental preservation monitoring. The term “baseline condition” is used in accordance with water management requirements issued by the Republic Water Directorate, which form the legal basis for carrying out these activities.

The term “baseline condition” refers to the current state of the environment at a given location. It is strictly related to the documentation and assessment of the state at the time of testing and does not alter the fundamental purpose of measuring soil and water quality at locations where geological research has been conducted.

For full transparency, the letters sent to the local community council president and the “Ne damo Jadar” association are available on our website Information for the Local Community.

Rio Sava Exploration d.o.o. will proceed with the planned field activities following the completion of preparatory work, including mowing on company-owned land designated for sampling, which was finalised yesterday. The company remains open to accommodating and allowing representatives from the “Ne damo Jadar” association and the local community council to be present on-site and observe the sampling process, should they wish to do so.