Statement about alleged activities of Rio Tinto in Serbia

The Ecological Uprising organisation today made several statements about the activities of Rio Tinto in Serbia related to the Jadar Project.

The ongoing comments by Ecological Uprising continue a trend of spreading innaccruate, baseless claims about our company which were then reported by media outlets.

We understand that the Republic of Serbia is currently in a pre-election cycle, and such statements are primarily motivated by political ambitions rather than a genuine desire to engage in an open and constructive discussion about the project.

As an example, Ecological Uprising alleged Rio Tinto was party to the signing of a Letter of Intent between the Government of Serbia and European Union in New York in September. That claim is false. Rio Tinto was not a signatory of that document.

We respect GoS's decision from January 2022, and all our activities are in line with the legal status of our company. However, we still believe in the Jadar Project, and that jadarite can be mined and processed safely and responsibly, and significantly benefit the Serbian economy.

There is still a lot of misinformation about the project. We are keen to speak openly with all stakeholders in Serbia so that the project, environmental protection measures and the benefits it could bring are fully understood. However, a meaningful conversation is only possible with those willing to engage. A public debate about Jadar is in the best interests of all. Everything else is just an attempt to generate media attention in which we will not participate.