Just before this edition went to press, tens of thousands of people had converged on Belgrade, Serbia, to protest the proposed Jadar lithium mine. The government sees the mine as an opportunity for Serbia to participate in the economic development associated with the race to secure critical minerals, and the protestors worry the project will pollute the water serving the farms in the Jadar valley. In 2004, a large deposit containing lithium oxide was discovered in the region and Rio Tinto proposed opening a mine in 2017. In January 2022, Serbia revoked Rio Tinto’s licenses after similar protests. During July, Serbia’s Supreme Court ruled that revoking Rio Tinto’s licenses was unconstitutional. A week later the Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy reopened discussions with the European Union regarding the mine and how it could contribute to the European Green Deal.

When that many people turn out to protest a mine, the developers should reconsider. It takes decades to build trust and that trust can be lost in hours. In many cases, mines are planned as 15- to 20-year projects. Add on to that the 10 years or more it takes to permit a mine, and a mining project’s timeline could span 30 years. During that time span, political administrations will likely come and go, but the people living down valley from mine will not. If they don’t trust the mining company, the relationship will be adversarial, and even more so if the federal government overrides their opposition.

Most mining companies today strive to be good neighbors and make every effort to achieve the highest standards in environmental compliance. Unfortunately, a small number of high-profile incidents tarnish what would ordinarily be an exemplary environmental record. The only option is to try harder.

A prime example would be the failure of tailings impoundments in the last five to 10 years. Some were fatal and destroyed property. All of them damaged the environment. The industry quickly took stock of the situation and performed a risk assessment. At the same, efforts to better educate engineers and project developers were implemented to improve tailings storage facilities (TSFs). Today, TSFs are better engineered and managed.

While all this activity related to TSFs was taking place, it appears that leach pad design may have been flying under the radar. Already this year, the mining industry has reported two major leach pad failures where cyanide escaped into the environment. One could debate the amount of cyanide and its toxicity, but the mine plans presented to the surrounding communities did not likely discuss possible trace amounts of cyanide in their waterways. The mining industry will step up as they always do with education and improved engineering, and then the long journey of earning the public’s trust will begin again.

Steve Fiscor, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, E&MJ