Sarajevo, 09 October 2026, dtt-net.com – The pro-Putin government of the Serb entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is offering to the government of the Donald Trump a joint business undertaking for 100 billion Euros evaluated lithium reserves in the village of Lopare in east-north of the entity/country, according to lobbying contract between Serb entity authorities and New York based law firm part of the Jerusalem-based law group.
The upgraded deal made in January 2026 published through social media by Croatian journalist Domagoj Margetic of the 2025 initial contract between the Ministry for European Affairs of Republika Srpska (RS) and Zell & Associates International Advocates LLC of Israeli lobbyist L. Marc Zell (part of law firm group FandZ based in Jerusalem-, says that the lobbying firm’s scope of engagement of Zell’s office in New York is to “promote a dialogue between RS and the Trump 2.0 Administration, with the aim of elevating bilateral relations between the RS and the United States to a new level of partnership and economic cooperation (including but not limited to the joint development and exploration of RS rare earth minerals).
Serb entity government last year paid to Zell & Associates 1. 244 million USD, according to USA Department of Justice – FARA archives for its services already.
The deal follows the first one signed last year with the Canada-based lobbying company Dickens & Madson (Canada) Inc. of an Israeli-Canadian businessman, which led to the lifting of sanctions on the former entity’s President of entity Milorad Dodik and associates, as well as around 30 companies linked, after sanctions imposed by Joe Biden’s government because of secessionist policy by entity’s leadership.
The value of lithium reserves and four other raw materials in the entity’s municipality of Lopare amounts to some 100 billion Euros, according to RS government and Swiss Arcore company which discovered the reserves in
Swiss company Arcore had said that it has discovered “significant amounts” of lithium carbonate, magnesium, potassium, and boron in Lopare in December 2023 and was planning to start mining in 2026, which has not happened so far.
Arcore says that according to the CSA Global Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE), referring to 1.286 billion tonnes of ore in the inferred and indicated categories, as well as to technological tests (Wardell Armstrong and 2 Aachen University), the total mineral resource base of the ARCORE project is: 1.5 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), 14 million tonnes of boric acid (B2O3), 35 million tonnes of potash (KCI) and 94 million tonnes of magnesium sulphate (MgSO4).
Dodik, who leads the biggest party of Serbs in BiH, had already publicly expressed interest in lithium business deals with USA government of Donald Trump, since last year.
“… it’s our interest to bring American companies which would like to have to see if we can do something. That’s a specific question…”, Dodik had told entity’s public broadcaster in December 2025, when asked during an interview about raw materials in Lopare.
The contract of Serb entity with the Canada-based lobbying firm is also about seeking support from Trump’s government for independence goal of Dodik and his associates for entity.
During Biden’s government Dodik had publicly told local media that the best moment for breaking up BiH and declare independence would be return of Trump in the White House, and lobbying agreement just fit in with the goal and use of lithium reserves in the political-business undertaking of pro-Russia and pro-Serbia leaders of Serbs in BiH.
Lopare municipality in BiH’s RS entity is just 50 km distance from Loznica municipality in Serbia, where environmentalists and opposition parties also oppose a lithium mining in the municipality over which Serbia signed an MoU with the EU Commission for a complete value chain, from extraction to production of lithium, lithium batteries, and manufacturing of vehicles with European carmakers.
Serbia lithium reserves discovered and managed by British-Australian Rio Tinto company represent up to 26% of EU needs, according to assessment by the European Commission, while a functional complete value chain would bring Serbia annually up to 12 billion Euros. For the moment the project is put on hold amid resistance of areas citizens, environmentalist, opposition and protesting students who are expected to seriously challenge former President Aleksandar Vucic in October 25 elections as he runs for prime minister position.
Three opinion survey’s say Students List would topple Vucic and his Progressive Party (SNS), which if happens would likely terminate hopes of Rio Tinto and automotive industry of the EU to implement the Mou of 2024 reached with the government controlled by Vucic.
Polls show that 62% of Serbia citizens are against digging and processing of lithium in the municipality because of environmental and health concerns.
