More than 20,000 people took to the streets in the Serbian capital Belgrade on Saturday to protest the reopening of a lithium mine, which will be a vital energy source for Europe's transition to green energy, as lithium is a key raw material for electric car batteries, writes BBC.
Activists say the mine will cause irreparable environmental damage to Serbia's Jadar Valley, where the site is located. In the capital, protesters chanted “Rio Tinto get out of Serbia” as they marched through the city holding up signs that read “We will not abandon Serbia.”
Serbia's Interior Ministry estimated that between 24,000 and 27,000 people joined the demonstration. Environmental activists also occupied the city's two main train stations, some lying or sitting on the tracks.
The Serbian Interior Minister said in his statement that the police had warned the organizers, and stressed that charges would be brought against all “perpetrators.”
Activists want lawmakers to permanently ban lithium and boron mining in Serbia. They have given the government until Saturday to implement the ban.
The licence granted to international mining company Rio Tinto was revoked in 2022 following widespread protests across the country, but the project was resumed last month. According to the Serbian government, the previous decision to halt the project was “not in accordance with the constitution and laws”.
Speaking about the revived Rio Tinto project, the co-chair of the Serbian Green Party said activists feared Serbia would be sacrificed to supply lithium for electric cars, something almost no one in the country could afford.
Automakers will need more lithium to make batteries as the shift to electric vehicles accelerates, and Rio Tinto’s $2.4 billion Gadar Valley project could supply up to nine-tenths of Europe’s current lithium needs and make the company one of the world’s leading lithium producers.
