Rio Tinto shares hit as Serbia pulls plug on $2.4 bn lithium project

Shares in Rio Tinto tumbled on Friday after Serbia revoked its lithium exploration licences over environmental concerns, dealing a blow to the Anglo-Australian miner's ambition to become Europe's largest supplier of the metal used in electric vehicles.

The move by Serbia comes as the country approaches a general election in April, and as relations between Belgrade and Canberra have soured after Sunday's high-profile deportation of tennis star Novak Djokovic from Australia over the latter's COVID-19 entry rules.

The decision is a major setback for Rio, which was hoping the project would help make it one of the world's 10 biggest producers of