News: Serbia: protests continue over lithium mining project

Protests continue in Belgrade against the lithium mining project in Mačva district. Protests erupted in July 2024 following the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the EU, which initiates a strategic partnership on sustainable raw materials, battery value chains and electric vehicles.

The story begins in 2004, when a group of geologists discovered, along the course of the river Jadar, a new mineral, borosilicate lithium sodium, which took the name of Jadarite.  The jadarite deposit in Serbia is currently the largest lithium deposit in Europe, which could potentially cover up to 10% of the world’s lithium demand – at the moment, the biggest producers of lithium are Chile, Mexico, Australia, Argentina and China, and, in small quantities, also Spain and Portugal.

In 2017, the Serbian government signed a memorandum of understanding with the Anglo-Australian multinational Rio Tinto to start the mining project, but widespread popular protests have been taking place in the country due to environmental concerns related to exploitation - questions about pollution and water consumption necessary for extraction and processing, along with the management of industrial waste discharges are still open.

The European Parliament, in its resolution of 16 December 2021, expressed "deep concern about the serious problems of corruption and violations of the rule of law" related to the project financed by the multinational.

Public pressure was so great that in 2022 the Serbian government was forced to stop the extraction plan.

However, on 11 July 2024 the Serbian Constitutional Court declared the government’s decision to stop the mining project unconstitutional.