Protest in Belgrade Against Mines on Saturday: Environmentalists Demand Moratorium on All State Contracts

A protest against mines will be held in Belgrade on Saturday, September 19, called by the Alliance of Environmental Organizations of Serbia (SEOS), reports Danas. SEOS chairwoman Ljiljana Bralović said protesters will demand “a moratorium on all contracts the state has signed regarding mineral exploration and exploitation.”

SEOS is the coalition of environmental organizations that has for years stood at the forefront of the movement against mining projects in Serbia, centered on the multinational Rio Tinto’s lithium project in the Jadar valley, near Loznica, in the west of the country. Residents of the area and activists fear the mine would cause irreparable pollution of the land and underground water reserves, as well as of the valley’s farmland.

After weeks of massive protests across the country, the Serbian government suspended the lithium project in 2022. The project was revived in 2024, after the Constitutional Court ruled that the revocation of Rio Tinto’s permits was not in line with the constitution and the law, and Belgrade subsequently signed a memorandum of understanding with the European Union on critical raw materials, batteries and electric vehicles.

Lithium is a strategic metal for electric vehicle batteries and is considered a critical raw material by the EU, which depends largely on China for supply. The Serbian government sees the project as an opportunity for economic development, while critics say it would cause irreparable environmental damage. Saturday’s protest is expected to be the latest rally of a movement that for years has turned the mining issue into one of the country’s main political fault lines.

Source: Danas