Thousands of Serbs keep protesting against lithium mine project

On Saturday, thousands of people demonstrated in Belgrade against Rio Tinto’s controversial mining project to extract lithium in western Serbia. Serbia has massive lithium deposits near Loznica, in the country’s west. Still, the controversial mining project, developed by British-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto, has been causing a political rift for several years.

The demonstrators fear the consequences for the environment. Government officials said the protests were politically motivated and aimed to topple President Aleksandar Vucic’s government.

Following a call from several environmental protection associations, people gathered in a central square of the Serbian capital on Saturday evening under the slogan “There will be no mines”. Police estimates put the number at between 24,000 and 27,000, while non-governmental observers put the figure at around 40,000. A total of 19 protesters have been arrested.

Declaration of intent

In July of this year, Serbia’s government signed a declaration of intent in the presence of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič to enable environmentally friendly extraction of the highly sought-after light metal in the Jadar Valley.

Serbia wanted to allow carmakers Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and Stellantis to buy lithium from the large lithium mine west of the country that mining group Rio Tinto is building there. That was two years after the previous government halted the process over environmental concerns. Months of mass protests against the project led to its halting.

Openness to dialogue

President Aleksandar Vučić condemned the recent blockades but signaled openness to dialogue and a possible referendum on the lithium project in the Jadar Valley in western Serbia, home to Europe’s largest lithium deposit.

In 2004, lithium was discovered in the soil in the Jadar region in western Serbia – Jadar refers to the nearby Jadar River. It immediately became clear that it was one of the largest lithium reserves in Europe.

Lithium is an essential raw material for the batteries of electric vehicles and mobile devices like smartphones. According to the government, the lithium mine can boost the Serbian economy. Germany and the EU aim to reduce dependence on China with the project. Today, China controls a large part of the extraction and processing of lithium worldwide.