Australian Chad Blewitt, long-standing head of Rio Tinto, officially stepped down a week ago from his position as director of Rio Sava Exploration, the mining giant’s subsidiary in Serbia.

About ten days before him, the company’s second legal representative, Blewitt’s compatriot Jamie Hite, did the same. They have been replaced by people originating from this region.

As can be seen from the Business Registers Agency data, Hite’s removal as a legal representative was registered on 3 July. Bora Pasuljević was appointed in his place.

About ten days later, on 14 July to be precise, another change was registered with the Business Registers Agency. Chad Matthew Blewitt was also removed as a legal representative. Varnava Petrović was appointed in his place.

Blewitt’s three-year term in this position had expired.

Prior to Blewitt and Hite, Canadian Robert Beaulieu also left the position of legal representative in February of this year (and was replaced by Hite).

Project maintenance

Pasuljević and Petrović will continue to run the company in the so-called care and maintenance phase, meaning the oversight and maintenance phase of the Jadar project that Rio Tinto is implementing in Serbia.

As representatives from the company stated at the beginning of the year, “Rio Tinto made the decision for the Jadar project to enter a care and maintenance phase, which involves a comprehensive assessment of project costs, staffing levels and resources.”

At the same time as the changes within Rio Sava, Pasuljević and Petrović were also appointed as directors at another Rio Tinto company in Serbia associated with the Jadar project. This concerns the company Jadar Free Zone Management Company Ltd from Belgrade, which is a subsidiary of Rio Sava. Founded in 2021, its primary business activity is warehousing. They replaced Blewitt and Hite in these positions as well.

Bora Pasuljević

In addition to his roles at the two Rio Tinto companies in Serbia, Pasuljević also owns a private firm. This is Programex Advisory, where he is the sole owner. It is a consultancy firm founded in February 2025.

According to data from his LinkedIn profile, he is an expert in strategic project management. He cites over 20 years of experience in delivering large-scale transformation programmes in the UK, the Middle East, Europe and Africa. He held senior positions at Deloitte and Ernst & Young.

He lives in London, and in an article about a new residential development published 10 years ago, he appeared as an interviewee who had purchased an apartment there. In the article, he stated that he was from Sweden.

In his LinkedIn bio, he notes that he has worked for major clients, including Rio Tinto. He has delivered projects across sectors such as energy, mining, transport, real estate and others.

He has been working as an independent consultant for a year and a half and has not updated his CV with his new role at Rio Tinto. The description only states that he is currently leading a strategic project for a global mining client, reporting directly to the CEO. His responsibilities include programme coordination, risk management, stakeholder engagement and supporting strategic decision-making, though the specific company is not named.

Varnava Petrović

On the other hand, Petrović states in his LinkedIn bio that he has been at Rio Tinto for a year and four months, holding the position of operations manager. Prior to that, he worked for Bechtel in their mining and metals division, as well as for Adriatic Metals.

He completed his higher education across three universities in Australia, where he also built his professional career. Among other roles, he worked at the state road infrastructure agency.

He is an expert in occupational health and safety.

Scaling down operations

Rio Sava’s financial report for last year shows a continuation of losses, alongside a scale-down of operations in line with the announced mode of functioning (even though the official decision to enter the care and maintenance phase was only formally made in November 2025).

In 2025, the company recorded a net loss of six billion dinars, or 51.5 million euros, which is 21% lower than the previous year.

In line with the strategy to maintain the project, operating expenses were reduced from 7.57 to 5.9 billion dinars, and total expenses dropped from 7.83 billion to 6.17 billion.

Non-current assets, consisting of patents and purchased real estate, remained virtually unchanged, but a noticeable reduction in current assets is evident. Above all, by paying off suppliers at home and abroad, Rio Tinto reduced its cash reserves from 2.74 billion dinars to “just” 548.4 million.

Funding secured for further operations

However, there are several signals in the financial documentation indicating that the company still holds out hope for the resumption of the Jadar project.

Firstly, it is stated that the parent company provided continuous financial support and approved 28 million dollars in July last year. As of the final day of last year, those funds had not been drawn down, meaning they remained available. It is added that Rio Sava holds written confirmation that it will be funded for at least 12 months following the approval of the financial statements, suggesting coverage not only for 2026 but also for the first half of 2027, given that this financial report was approved recently on 30 June. Management also expects that, if necessary, additional funds will be provided to settle obligations.

Staying in Serbia

What is further evident from the financial statements is that Rio Sava noticeably increased its assets in 2024 when it recorded a patent worth 2.27 billion dinars under intangible assets. As stated, this is a patent for the implementation of a process for preparing and processing mineral raw materials containing boron and lithium (jadarite ore) to obtain commercially valuable products. It is noted that the patent is currently not ready for use. Its value was not written down in last year’s financial report, despite the project being in the maintenance phase.

Rio Sava conducted a valuation of the patent, and a key assumption in the calculation includes the “expectation that the Company will in future obtain the necessary regulatory permits, licences and approvals required for the implementation of the Jadar project, and that the project will resume in line with management plans following the care and maintenance period”.

It is added that Rio Tinto decided to transition to the maintenance phase due to a “change in the dynamics of obtaining the required permits”, and that it is “not leaving the Republic of Serbia”.

The report notes that Rio Sava and the Rio Tinto Group are “exploring options with all stakeholders for the further implementation of this world-class opportunity in accordance with the highest environmental standards, whilst simultaneously considering all available legal options”.

(Forbes Serbia, 21.07.2026)

https://forbes.n1info.rs/biznis/rio-tinto-promenio-rukovodstvo-u-srbiji-kompaniju-sada-vode-nasi-ljudi-u-projekat-jadar-se-i-dalje-veruje/