Serbian protests escalate over proposed lithium mine, 2 September 2024

Serbian activists gathered in their thousands in Belgrade to protest about a crackdown against resistance to a lithium mine, in a test of the government’s plans to boost the country’s economy.

The rally...organised by the Eco Guard group, is the latest in a series of actions linked to Rio Tinto’s proposed lithium mine — a project Serbia’s government has hailed as an economic milestone, but which activists and locals say would destroy the country’s Jadar Valley region that lies above Europe’s largest deposit of the critical mineral.

“This protest has a clear political message: there will be no mining of lithium,” said Savo Manojlovic, an activist who organised mass blockades in 2022 that shut down parts of the country and forced the government to cancel the mine project. “We should stand by everyone who defends [Jadar]"...

Aleksandar Vučić, Serbia’s president and the winner of disputed elections in December and May, revived the plan this year. In July, he received the backing of EU leaders, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and major European automobile companies, including Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Stellantis...