Radar: The Jadar Project papers

“Five months after Rio Sava said it would release draft studies on the effects of the Jadar Project on the environment and just weeks since it said that all completed expert analyses would be published as soon as they are adapted for the public, the company did fulfill its promises,” Radar said.

It added that not all of the 23,000 ground, water, air and noise tests were released but that three studies were released – on the underground mine, ore processing facility and the dump.

“As promised, the studies really have been adapted in exactly the way we suspected they would be when we reported on University Professor of Agriculture Aleksandar Djordjevic’s battle to find out if his signature really was on the Rio Sava study. Company spokespeople kept saying that more than 100 experts, including 40 university professors, were involved in drafting the study there are just 2 names on it: Aleksandar Jovovic (Machine Engineering School) and Nikola Lilic (Mining and Geology School).

The fact that 3 reports were released is not unusual because smaller reports on potentially negative effects on the environment are used to avoid an adequate study. Radar said that is a well-known way method which is in violation of Serbian law.

Lawyer Sreten Djordjevic said that Rio Tinto broke up the project in violation of European standards under a directive on effects on the environment and Serbian law. He said a basic principle in assessng effects is the overall effect of the project. “I would describe it like this: a car is rightly considered a dangerous thing. If you drive it you could kill someone but if you decide to assess the dangers of four wheels, a rear view mirror and four doors, it is not dangerous but the entirety actually is. That’s what they’re trying to do with this project,” he said.

Technically, regulations have not been bypassed since the published reports are not part of any legal procedure, which the company said explicitly and added that they can’t guarantee anything about the contents of the drafts. “That did not stop (former Prime Minister) Ana Brnabic from calling for a parliament session to discuss the non-binding reports drafted by authors unknown,” Radar said and recalled that Brnabic revoked all permits and plans for the Jadar Project more than 2 years ago.