Several demonstrations of a rare scale surprised Serbia in December. Thousands of people took to the streets to denounce the lithium mine project of the Anglo-Australian company Rio Tinto. On Thursday evening, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic announced on television that she had heard the protesters’ demands before announcing the withdrawal of the project. Savo Manojlovic, one of the main figures of the opposition to Rio Tinto, welcomed the decision, but recalled the second demand of environmental associations: a ban on the exploitation of boron and lithium for twenty years. “One more step, we are close”, he exclaimed.
Environmental activists feared that this lithium mine, located in western Serbia in the Jadar Valley, would pollute these fertile lands. “The extraction process requires thousands of tons of sulfuric acid,” points out Bojana Novakovic, coordinator of the NGO Mars sa Drine, committed against lithium mines in Serbia. According to her, the project would have destroyed the rivers on which the many farmers in the region depend as well as the inhabitants.
Rio Tinto also has bad press in many countries. In 2020, the industrial group dynamited an ancient Aboriginal site in Australia, causing a stir and the resignation of its boss. A year earlier, a study had highlighted high concentrations of lead and uranium in a river downstream from a Rio Tinto mine in Madagascar, endangering the health of local populations.
“A political decision” before the April elections
“If the company decided to invest here, in Serbia, it is also because it knows that it can not respect the legislation, through corruption”, denounces Dejan Lekic, co-founder of the NGO NEA, which brings together scientific experts on environmental issues. He takes as an example the Bor mines, operated by Chinese companies, which are one of the most polluted sites in the country, according to the Serbian public institutions themselves.
The weekly protests began on November 27. Several Saturdays in a row, the rallies blocked the main roads of dozens of cities including the capital Belgrade. Quickly, the subject of the mine of Rio Tinto was invited in the campaign for the legislative and presidential elections in April. A wide range of environmental associations have united against Rio Tinto to denounce the repeated attacks on the environment in the country. “The government backed down under popular pressure, it was afraid of the consequences at the ballot box”, enthuses Bojana Novakovic.
But for Dejan Lekic, the case can benefit the government today. “By announcing the end of Rio Tinto, the Prime Minister knows that there will be no more demonstrations. It’s a political decision.” he explains. Bojana Novakovic confirms: the government wants above all to get this subject out of the electoral campaign and regain control of the debates. “But Rio Tinto’s withdrawal from the project is only a first step. We are calling for the law to be changed to prevent another mining company from replacing Rio Tinto,” she continues.
Lithium, Europe’s “white gold”
The co-founder of the NGO NEA calls for a more global approach. “Throughout the country, there are an incredible amount of environmental issues, which are overshadowed by Rio Tinto,” he notes. Dejan Lekic cites in particular the quality of the air, which deteriorates every winter in the Balkans. “All of this is linked to the absence of the rule of law and endemic corruption”, he gets angry.
The construction of the lithium mine was accompanied by a certain promise of ecological transition on the part of Rio Tinto. Indeed, it is an essential component in the construction of electric batteries, the demand for which is growing at full speed. The Anglo-Australian group thus hoped to become the main producer of this “white gold” in Europe.
In the autumn processions in Serbia, the demonstrators argued that they refused to pay with their land for the ecological transition of the rich European countries and their electric cars. “We don’t want to become a mining colony,” continues Bojana Novakovic. Full of hope, the young woman believes that her fellow citizens have finally found a cause that unites them: the defense of natural resources.