Why lithium mining has Serbians up in arms

Balkan nation has reinstated controversial licence to extract 'white gold' as race for crucial EV mineral intensifies

Photo collage of Aleksandar Vucic and lithium mining operations in the background, with a cutout of protesters, and lithium-ion batteries.
'There is a complete lack of trust in the government when they say it will be in the interest of citizens' said one opposition politician
(Image credit: Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images)

About 30,000 Serbians marched through Belgrade over the weekend to protest against a massive lithium mining project, in scenes reminiscent of the widespread public fury that stalled the scheme two years ago.

Last month Serbia restored Rio Tinto's licence to extract lithium in the western Jadar Valley, one of Europe's largest reserves of the crucial mineral – and a "perennial political fault line in the Balkan country", said The Guardian. The Anglo-Australian consortium plans to open a massive lithium mine as Europe scrambles to secure access to the "white gold" that powers electric car batteries, and so reduce its reliance on Chinese supplies.

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Harriet Marsden is a writer for The Week, mostly covering UK and global news and politics. Before joining the site, she was a freelance journalist for seven years, specialising in social affairs, gender equality and culture. She worked for The Guardian, The Times and The Independent, and regularly contributed articles to The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, The New Statesman, Tortoise Media and Metro, as well as appearing on BBC Radio London, Times Radio and “Woman’s Hour”. She has a master’s in international journalism from City University, London, and was awarded the "journalist-at-large" fellowship by the Local Trust charity in 2021.