[1/3]People attend a protest against Rio Tinto’s plan to open a lithium mine in Gornje Nedeljice, in Kragujevac, Serbia, August 7, 2024. REUTERS/Zorana Jevtic Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
Lithium is a key component in batteries for electric vehicles and mobile devices.
Kokanovic’s neighbour, Marijana Petkovic, said her community is so alarmed by the Rio Tinto project that it is prepared to physically stop machinery from constructing the mine.
“We will defend our homes, our land, our church and our cemetery. Further radicalisation will be the next step (if necessary),” she said.
In June, Rio Tinto said newly published environmental studies showed the project would be safe for local communities.
In an effort to allay fears of deadly pollution, the Serbian health ministry on Tuesday formed a commission tasked with studying the impact of lithium mining on human health.
“There will no digging for two years, so…stirring up panic makes no sense,” President Aleksandar Vucic told reporters on Wednesday evening.
On July 19, Vucic, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and EU energy Commissioner Maros Sefcovic signed a deal that would grant producers from EU member state access to raw materials mined in Serbia, which would include lithium.
The deal is meant to reduce the EU’s dependency on imports from America and Asia.
In the central Serbian town of Kragujevac, protesters signalled they would not relent in the dispute over the lithium mine as they packed its main square on Wednesday evening.
“We do not want lithium in Serbia. If the damage to the environment is higher than the economic benefit, then it is clear (why the project is not good),” demonstrator Aleksandar Jankovic said.
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Reporting by Branko Filipovic; writing by Ivana Sekularac; editing by Mark Heinrich
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Source link : https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/serbian-villagers-spark-protest-movement-against-planned-lithium-mine-2024-08-08/
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Publish date : 2024-08-08 07:00:00
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