Potential lithium deposits, a critical resource of strategic importance, have yet to be fully explored in Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, confirmed reserves, located in the eastern part of the country, are estimated to exceed one million tons of lithium concentrate.
Representatives of the Center for Policy and Management (CPM), an independent think tank from Sarajevo, together with the Green Party caucus in the BiH parliament, initiated a public debate on critical materials, their potential deposits, and quantities available to the state for future exploitation planning.
According to CPM Haris Abaspahic, the potential for lithium mining is yet to be fully explored.
“Around Lopare [in eastern Bosnia], over a million tons of concentrate have been found, but deposits are also present along the Drina River and in the central parts of the country, extending to Herzegovina,” says Abaspahic.
According to Abaspahic, CPM has compiled available data on BiH’s mineral potential, identifying 143 confirmed locations with strategic and critical resources.
Current coal reserves in BiH are estimated at five billion metric tons, while iron ore stands at 653 million tons. Bauxite reserves are estimated at 120 million tons, and zinc and lead at 56 million tons each. There are also smaller reserves of magnesium, manganese, and antimony.
The exact quantity of lithium, which is crucial for the production of batteries for electric vehicles, remains unknown. The estimate of 1.5 million tons of lithium carbonate is based on research conducted in the municipalities of Lopare and Ugljevik. Preliminary explorations have also been initiated in Cajnice, Jezero, Sipovo, as well as in Bijeljina, Zvornik, and Brcko, with up to twenty potential deposits identified.
Lithium is listed among the thirty critical materials of strategic importance defined by the European Union, and it is also on the U.S. list of 34 such materials.
The price of lithium could rise up to 42 times by 2040 due to decarbonization plans and net-zero CO2 emission goals.
According to the IMF, the critical raw materials sector is expected to surpass the oil sector in financial significance over the next two decades.
Bosnian Parliament member and president of the Green Party caucus, Sasa Magazinovic, emphasized the need for an immediate nationwide dialogue on exploiting these resources, calling it a strategic issue.
“This is an economic opportunity, but it is also an environmental challenge,” says MP Magazinovic.
