On October 19, local and environmental activists in Serbia blocked the Loznica-Valjevo roads near Gornji Nedeljice and in Preljina near Čačak for an hour on October XNUMX to protest plans to open a lithium mine in western Serbia.
After the blockades, called for by the Association of Environmental Organizations of Serbia (SEOS), ended without incident, the organizers announced similar actions throughout Serbia.
"This is just a prelude to the blockades that should take place throughout Serbia," said Zlatko Kokanović from the organization "Ne damo Jadar", which is part of SEOS.
He also stated during the gathering for Radio Free Europe (RSE) that the residents of Gornji Nedeljice and the surrounding villages will not give up the fight to prevent lithium from being mined in Serbia.
The RSE reporter reported that the participants of the protest were letting emergency vehicles pass.
Among those gathered at the blockades were some opposition MPs.
Residents interviewed by RSE during the roadblocks say that the problem they are facing is "the problem of the whole of Serbia", not just their region.
"There won't be a mine and I'm sure there won't be," says Svetlana Milutinović from the village of Korenita, where the tailings dump of the Rio-Tinto mine was previously planned to be.
He adds that the support of citizens from other cities of Serbia means a lot to them.
"They are all in the same position. This all starts from here, but everyone will have their turn," said Milutinović.
Dušica Barović from Loznica told RSE that these roadblocks are "just one protest in a series", but that they are determined not to allow lithium mining in western Serbia.
"Something must happen in the coming period, we also expect the election of a new mayor of the city (of Loznica), since the previous one resigned," said Barović.
The mayor of Loznica, Vidoje Petrović, resigned on October 17, only half a year after he was re-elected as mayor, after 20 years of leading that city in western Serbia.
The new session of the City Assembly is scheduled for October 25, but at that session there is no item on the election of a new mayor.
After the government restarted the Jadar project for lithium mining near Loznica in June, which it entrusted to the British-Australian company Rio Tinto, a new wave of civil protests was launched in Serbia.
The local population and environmental protection associations also oppose the adoption of the Spatial Plan, which would enable the implementation of the Jadar project, which envisages the exploitation of lithium, the raw material from which batteries for electric cars are made.
The authorities rejected the request for a ban
On October 10, the Serbian Parliament, in which the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) of Aleksandar Vučić has a majority, rejected the opposition's proposal to enact a law for a permanent ban on the exploration and exploitation of lithium and boron.
Previously, during the summer, a series of protests against lithium mining were held in dozens of cities in Serbia, with claims by environmental organizations that the opening of the mine would leave irreparable consequences for the environment.
The SNS authorities previously announced that the Rio Tinto lithium mine could open in 2028 if environmental regulations are met and the necessary permits are obtained.
In 2004, that company discovered jadarite ore, a combination of lithium and boron, in the Loznica region, which the authorities estimated to be 158 million tons in the Jadra valley.
Mass protests against lithium mines in Serbia began in the fall of 2021, when blockades of the highway that runs from the north to the south of the country were also organized. After that, in January 2022, the Government of Serbia stopped the project and canceled the permits for Rio Tinto.
On July 11, 2024, the Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional the decree of the Government of Serbia on stopping the Jadar project. A few days later, the Government made a decision that once again opens the possibility for the realization of the mine project.
Serbian officials signed the Memorandum on Critical Raw Materials with the European Union on July 19 in Belgrade during the visit of European Commission Vice President Maroš Ševčovič and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The memorandum envisages the entire production chain – from the mining of lithium in Rio Tinto's mine in the Jadar River valley to the production of batteries for electric vehicles.
Rio Tinto previously stated in an answer to RFE/RL that "domestic and international experts have confirmed that the 'Jadar' project can be implemented safely and in accordance with the highest environmental protection standards."
Numerous experts from the country and abroad point out that in the process of lithium exploitation there are inevitably environmental consequences, primarily pollution of the river basin and land.
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