Explained: Why have Serbians been protesting over lithium mining?

Why have Serbians been protesting?

Serbians have been taking to the streets, blocking main roads and bridges and halting traffic, to protest against Rio Tinto’s plans to mine lithium in the Jadar valley near Lozinca town in the country.

Rio Tinto had discovered lithium deposits in the country in 2006, as reported by The Guardian, and had bought land in the Lozinca area in Serbia. The company had been planning to invest $2.4 billion in the project — which if completed would be one of the biggest investment projects in the country.

As reported by Reuters, the mine would have produced enough lithium to operate one million electric vehicles along with boric acid and sodium sulphate. When fully functional, the mine would have created “58,000 tonnes of refined battery-grade lithium carbonate” every year, which would have made it Europe’s most lithium-producing mine.

While Rio Tinto has said to be fulfilling all Serbia’s and European Union’s environmental standards, protestors have been pointing out that lithium mining in the $2.4-billion project would irrevocably pollute the drinking water.

Although Rio Tino was not the only mining company to which the Serbian government had sold land rights to, the government had also sold land to China’s Zijin copper miner.

The protestors are also protesting against President Aleksandar Vučić who had called China to be a “saviour” for its copper mining projects in Serbia at the Bor copper mine. Vučić has also been accused of letting illegal land appropriations take place and constantly ignoring environmental issues in the country. However, Vučić has said that the protests have been organised by foreign countries to destabilise Serbia’s government.

Serbian protestors have accused the government to be only retracting the licenses before the upcoming election in April this year. The protestors have said that they wouldn’t stop at the government just taking back the Rio Tinto deal but they want the Serbian government to ban any and all future borate and lithium mining projects in the country.

The protest in the country had begun last year after Serbia passed two laws – Law on Referendum and Expropriation law, giving access to mining companies in the country.

Concerns over rising pollution

Environmentalists in Serbia have said that while the country has already been ridden with industrial pollution, a new mine would only make it worse, polluting the land and water in the area.

Serbia has ranked as Europe’s fifth and the world’s 32nd most polluted country in a list of 98 countries. According to a 2019 report by Global Alliance on Health and Pollution, Serbia is one of the top ten countries with the most deaths due to pollution — 175 deaths per 100,000.

Serbian capital Belgrade is surrounded by lignite mines and coal power plants powered by these mines, which only make the pollution worse.

What are the two controversial laws?

Two laws that have been passed last year – law on referendum and expropriation law – had been the reason for Serbians hitting the streets in late November 2021.

The protestors have been against the Law on Referendum, which would make it difficult for citizens to protest against projects that spread pollution and expropriation law, which would make it immensely easy for the state’s government to acquire private land.

The Referendum law lowers the referendum and states that it would not anymore require 50 per cent of the registered voters to turn out for a referendum to pass, as it required in the earlier provision which was passed in 1994. The opposition has accused that this law is undemocratic and against Serbia’s constitution.

The expropriation law would allow for a speedy expropriation of property, specifically within five days, along with compensation if it is deemed to be in the public interest. Many have accused the government of having passed this law to be able to approve other mining projects.

What has Rio Tinto said?

While Rio Tinto was expecting to see the first production from the Jadar mine in 2026, the company had moved it by a year citing government delays a few days back.

After the Serbian government withdrew all licenses, Rio Tinto said that it was extremely concerned with the government’s decision and was looking into the legalities of the situation.

While Prime Minister Ana Brnabić accused Rio Tinto of not disclosing all essential information about the project, the company has said “it had always operated in compliance” with the laws.

Even Rio Tinto’s share prices had dropped after the announcement. The company closed at 4.1 per cent lower in Australia marking its worst one-day drop since August 2021. Even in London, the company’s shares declined more than 3 per cent.

In a statement, Rio Tinto said, “The Serbian Prime Minister announced Serbia was withdrawing the spatial plan and revoking licences related to our proposed Jadar lithium-borates project. Understandably, there are significant concerns about the potential impact of the mine on the local communities of the Jadar valley and we understand that we need to show that these concerns can be addressed and managed. We believe in Jadar, a world-class project with the potential to play an essential role in the transition to a low carbon future and are working through what this means for the project and our people in Serbia.”

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