In a public address on Thursday, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic put special focus on the Jadar project, and said that people have been “deceived by lies.”

“When things get emotional rather than rational, it is difficult to talk about anything, practically impossible. However, I want to say a few things to those who genuinely want to hear, not those who know everything, not politicians, but those who I know have good intentions and love Serbia, and who I think have been deceived by lies. Firstly, there will be no mining until we receive guarantees, nothing will be happening in the next 18 months. We will hire the best Serbian environmental experts to ensure that people’s lives will not be affected,” said Vucic, Danas reported.

He emphasized that the government has offered dialogue to everyone, including political opponents, whom he claims are exploiting public anger.

Vucic also mentioned Serbian actor Nenad Jezdic’s statement, describing it as inaccurate and misleading.

Jezdic told an interview with the Beta news agency on Thursday that the 400 hectares of land that are needed for a planned lithium mine’s compound alone are enough to grow four million kilograms of plums worth EUR 955,000 on. He added that the damages that agriculture would suffer in the Jadar valley were much greater than the mine rent for exploiting lithium and boron.

Vucic explained that the proposed lithium mine covers an area of roughly 140 hectares for underground mining, with a total of 220 hectares including the surrounding area. Regarding the use of sulfuric acid, he noted it will be used in a closed system at 90 degrees, thus preventing sulfur rains and emissions.

He added that the planned lithium mine is 300 times smaller than the mine in the Serbian city of Bor.

“You couldn’t breathe in Bor until we brought in the right investor. We plan to do the same here, if we can,” said Vucic, Danas reported.