Strange Mineral That Could Save Earth Is Hidden in the Valleys of Serbia
Jadarite: Earth's Real-Life Kryptonite and Global Lithium Treasure
Discover why the newly confirmed mineral Jadarite—nicknamed "Earth's Kryptonite"—holds unprecedented reserves of lithium vital for the global green energy transition. Learn about its unique chemical structure, easier extraction methods, and the political battles surrounding its Serbian mine.
Short Summary
- The Jadar deposit contains one of the planet’s largest lithium reserves, estimated at 118 million tons of ore.
- Jadarite’s unique mineral structure allows for lithium extraction requiring significantly less energy than traditional hard rock processing.
- Developing Project Jadar could supply over 90% of the EU’s battery needs, boosting regional industrial independence.
This overview details the 2004 Serbian discovery of Jadarite, its comparison to fictional Kryptonite, and its massive implications for energy independence and industrial processes.
Unlock all features
FREE: Get instant access to 10 AI summaries, chats, or transcripts per day.
Unlock all features
FREE: Get instant access to 10 AI summaries, chats, or transcripts per day.
Unlock all features
FREE: Get instant access to 10 AI summaries, chats, or transcripts per day.
Unlock all features
FREE: Get instant access to 10 AI summaries, chats, or transcripts per day.
Unlock all features
FREE: Get instant access to 10 AI summaries, chats, or transcripts per day.
Related videos
Mindblowing Map of Fungi Reveals the Largest Structure on Earth
Anton Petrov
18.7k views
New Evidence of Activity and Changes Inside Earth's Core
Anton Petrov
74.5k views
Giant Structure Found Hidden In the Zone of Avoidance (Behind the Milky Way)
Anton Petrov
42.9k views
The Lake in Africa That Could Kill Millions Overnight
Anton Petrov
7.2k views
The Longest Burning Fire on Planet Earth Is Thousands of Years Old
Anton Petrov
59.8k views
Human Waste Is Now Turning Into New Types of Minerals
Anton Petrov
49.7k views
Could All Life Have Started on Mars? Are We Martians?
Anton Petrov
53.3k views
The Strangest Explosion Astronomers Have Ever Seen Just Happened
Anton Petrov
51.2k views
Crystal Found Inside a Plant Could Transform Rare Earth Mining Industry
Anton Petrov
42.9k views
Strangest Comet in the Solar System Is Growing Rings in Real Time (Chiron)
Anton Petrov
66.4k views
Top Comments (10)
To those interested in bleak truth. Jadarit wasn't discovered by RioTinto it was rediscovered. During Yugoslavia we had all the records of mineral deposits including jadarit. Those records were mysteriously destroyed and a new law was put in place. Those who "discover" mineral deposit have the right to exclusively dig for it. In comes RioTinto and just accidentally "stumbles" upon it. Anyone who is familiar with Tinto's history knows where this is going. It is basically turning Serbia into EU's mining colony. It's a poison they don't want in their backyard killing their people. Serbs are extremely against drilling for jadarit because it will destroy the countryside, poison the soil and underground water.
It has to be said that Rio Tinto don't exactly have the best historic rep when it comes to environmental credentials.
Rio Tinto "legally" blew up ancient heritage site in Western Australia; Juukan 2, a cave that had evidence of 46k years of continuous occupancy/use by indigenous Australians. This was despite traditional owners from the area begging Rio Tinto to reconsider the approval after finding new evidence of the significance of the site. A transition to clean energy must be a fair and just transition. We can't destroy the environment and the people who rely on it in one area, for the sake of a more wealthy area/population.
Rio Tinto, by the way, is no one's friend. The water use is the real problem, besides how much, and what types of residual material is going to be left after they are done with a particular mining operation. While it would serve Serbia in the long term, it would also open up a potential future of pollution and contaminated land that could be an unsolvable trap. If I were Serbia, I would severly limit and regulate their water use and acid spill and acceptable residuals before signing anything. Have the company make a pilot plant, show how the mining operation will go, including the full extraction, and regulate the transport and storage, and then legally hold them to it, with the proviso that the entire operation could be nationalized if they do not meet up with the expected agreements. Just a thought.
I hope this ”tested in Australia” technology isn’t the one also used in Talvivaara, Finland, that caused a massive environmental catastrophy in 2012-2013 as heavy rains caused water to seep into the waterproofed walls and caused them to fail, dumping that toxic sludge into the river that goes through my town Oulu.
Hey, look, I managed to turn a cool superman movie reference into a heated political debate in the comments It is interesting to hear the Serbian perspective though. Jadarite is definitely an important discovery and possibly one of the most remarkable minerals on Earth but is it worth selling your country over? Time will tell
Hey, you should know that for many years now, majority of Serbia's population is continuously demonstrating against Rio Tinto mining this mineral for Lithium extraction. The valley you're talking about is very close to the most beautiful river, which is also a natural border between Serbia and Bosnia, called Drina and which is a major tributory of Sava river, which again is the largest tributory of Danube river, one of the biggest rivers in Europe. There are real concerns that the extraction process could potentially do very serious damage to the nature. The land is definitely used for agriculture for centuries.
This explains why Jor El sent Superman to North America instead of Europe.. 😂
The real reason why Serbian people are against this project is the fact that the contract proposal and project details between the corrupted Serbian governmant and Rio Tinto are not available to the public, therefore people are unable to assess true benefits, drawbacks and/or risks of the project. So if all the important details about the project are being hidden from the people, it naturally implies that some shady shenaningas are taking place, which will most likely hurt the people and the country and benefit just a few (already rich) individuals.
You have to understand that the fear is real, especially because there was a chemical industry nearby that worked between the 50s and 80s, which caused the death of many people, including some of my dear relatives. It is also clear to me that lithium will be extracted, as the Balkans would say " milom ili silom" (by force or by will) but it is clear to you and to us that if Rio Tinto was involved, Serbia is damned I am someone who has been watching your channel for years and I know that a lot of people from Serbia watch your channel and I just hope that because of those clicks you didn't sell us for a few hundred dollars
Unlock the Data Inside
Turn Videos into Knowledge
- Get FREE 10/day: transcripts, summaries, chats
- Chat with videos, export text & PDF
- $1 free API credit for RAG, chatbots & research
Free forever plan • All features unlocked
Top Comments (10)
To those interested in bleak truth. Jadarit wasn't discovered by RioTinto it was rediscovered. During Yugoslavia we had all the records of mineral deposits including jadarit. Those records were mysteriously destroyed and a new law was put in place. Those who "discover" mineral deposit have the right to exclusively dig for it. In comes RioTinto and just accidentally "stumbles" upon it. Anyone who is familiar with Tinto's history knows where this is going. It is basically turning Serbia into EU's mining colony. It's a poison they don't want in their backyard killing their people. Serbs are extremely against drilling for jadarit because it will destroy the countryside, poison the soil and underground water.
It has to be said that Rio Tinto don't exactly have the best historic rep when it comes to environmental credentials.
Rio Tinto "legally" blew up ancient heritage site in Western Australia; Juukan 2, a cave that had evidence of 46k years of continuous occupancy/use by indigenous Australians. This was despite traditional owners from the area begging Rio Tinto to reconsider the approval after finding new evidence of the significance of the site. A transition to clean energy must be a fair and just transition. We can't destroy the environment and the people who rely on it in one area, for the sake of a more wealthy area/population.
Rio Tinto, by the way, is no one's friend. The water use is the real problem, besides how much, and what types of residual material is going to be left after they are done with a particular mining operation. While it would serve Serbia in the long term, it would also open up a potential future of pollution and contaminated land that could be an unsolvable trap. If I were Serbia, I would severly limit and regulate their water use and acid spill and acceptable residuals before signing anything. Have the company make a pilot plant, show how the mining operation will go, including the full extraction, and regulate the transport and storage, and then legally hold them to it, with the proviso that the entire operation could be nationalized if they do not meet up with the expected agreements. Just a thought.
I hope this ”tested in Australia” technology isn’t the one also used in Talvivaara, Finland, that caused a massive environmental catastrophy in 2012-2013 as heavy rains caused water to seep into the waterproofed walls and caused them to fail, dumping that toxic sludge into the river that goes through my town Oulu.
Hey, look, I managed to turn a cool superman movie reference into a heated political debate in the comments It is interesting to hear the Serbian perspective though. Jadarite is definitely an important discovery and possibly one of the most remarkable minerals on Earth but is it worth selling your country over? Time will tell
Hey, you should know that for many years now, majority of Serbia's population is continuously demonstrating against Rio Tinto mining this mineral for Lithium extraction. The valley you're talking about is very close to the most beautiful river, which is also a natural border between Serbia and Bosnia, called Drina and which is a major tributory of Sava river, which again is the largest tributory of Danube river, one of the biggest rivers in Europe. There are real concerns that the extraction process could potentially do very serious damage to the nature. The land is definitely used for agriculture for centuries.
This explains why Jor El sent Superman to North America instead of Europe.. 😂
The real reason why Serbian people are against this project is the fact that the contract proposal and project details between the corrupted Serbian governmant and Rio Tinto are not available to the public, therefore people are unable to assess true benefits, drawbacks and/or risks of the project. So if all the important details about the project are being hidden from the people, it naturally implies that some shady shenaningas are taking place, which will most likely hurt the people and the country and benefit just a few (already rich) individuals.
You have to understand that the fear is real, especially because there was a chemical industry nearby that worked between the 50s and 80s, which caused the death of many people, including some of my dear relatives. It is also clear to me that lithium will be extracted, as the Balkans would say " milom ili silom" (by force or by will) but it is clear to you and to us that if Rio Tinto was involved, Serbia is damned I am someone who has been watching your channel for years and I know that a lot of people from Serbia watch your channel and I just hope that because of those clicks you didn't sell us for a few hundred dollars