June 16 (Reuters) - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic

is preparing to give Rio Tinto the green light to

develop Europe's largest lithium mine two years after Belgrade

called off the project, the Financial Times said on Sunday.

Vucic told the newspaper that "new guarantees" from the

global mining giant and the European Union looked set to address

Serbia's concerns over whether necessary environmental standards

would be met at the Jadar site in the west of the country.

Rio Tinto did not immediately respond to request for comment

outside regular business hours.

Regarded as a critical material by the EU and the United

States, lithium is used in batteries for electric vehicles (EVs)

and mobile devices.

"If we deliver on everything, (the mine) might be open in

2028" Vucic told the FT, adding that the mine was projected to

produce 58,000 tons of lithium per year which would be "enough

for 17% of EV production in Europe - approximately 1.1 million

cars."

In 2022, Belgrade revoked licences for Rio's $2.4 billion

Jadar project after massive environmental protests. If

completed, the project could supply 90% of Europe's current

lithium needs and help to make the company a leading lithium

producer.

In 2021 and 2022 Serbian environmentalists collected 30,000

signatures in a petition demanding that parliament enact

legislation to halt lithium exploration in the country.