In Serbia, a giant mine project, officially stopped, continues to worry residents and environmentalists

To carry out the energy transition that it calls for, the Union
European Union seeks to ensure its mineral supplies, and mining projects
are popping up all over the continent. This is particularly the case in Serbia where a former future giant lithium mine is strongly contested by the population.

At the end of 2021, mobilizations of an unprecedented scale had shaken Serbia for several weeks. Worried about their environment and their health, the Serbs took to the streets by the tens of thousands to block highways and oppose an industrial project: the Jadar project of the multinational Rio Tinto. This Anglo-Australian company has been seeking for several years to extract lithium and borate in western Serbia. These two minerals are essential components in the manufacture of solar panels and electric batteries, and Rio Tinto has indicated that it wants to invest more than two billion euros in Serbia, in order to open the largest lithium mine in Europe, capable of producing more than one million batteries per year.

The project officially buried

Faced with massive opposition from citizens, the Serbian government said it understood the protesters’ concerns and, in January 2022, a few weeks before the general elections, it officially put “an end point” at the Jadar project. But more than a year later, although the project is still officially stopped, Rio Tinto continues to buy land in the valley at exorbitant prices, and the mining multinational subsidizes numerous local activities. As for political leaders, the project is supported by the Serbian president himself, who does not hesitate to stigmatize opponents and environmentalists. Nebojsa Petkovic, for example, has been under regular pressure since mobilizing to defend his Jadar Valley: “The president says that we are enemies of the state, that we are blocking the development of the country. That this lithium mine and this Jadar project are a huge opportunity for Serbia, he explains. These are the kinds of lies he presents to the public.”

In recent years many foreign companies have come to Serbia to exploit the country’s mineral resources, and other projects are said to be on the table of the Serbian government. But as the authorities are regularly shaken by corruption scandals, a majority of Serbs perceive the Rio Tinto project as a symbol of clientelist exploitation of their environment, and a petition against this lithium mine has collected more than 300,000 signatures .

“There is a lot of corruption, and basic environmental standards are not taken into account.”

Savo Manojlovic

at franceinfo

Environmental activist Savo Manojlovic denounces the environmental consequences of these industrial projects: “The Chinese are getting permits to open polluting factories and at the same time Western companies like Rio Tinto are being allowed to circumvent the laws of the Republic of Serbia.” Faced with these criticisms, Rio Tinto assured that its lithium mine would meet the highest environmental standards. According to local media, the Jadar project would benefit from significant American and European support, and in particular from the German automotive sector.