It’s an idyllic scene: rolling green hills of fertile agricultural land punctuated by lush pockets of forest and distinctive clay-roofed homes.
But in Serbia’s Jadar Valley, it’s below the ground where things get complicated.
British-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto has found Europe’s largest and most valuable deposit of lithium — a mineral in such high demand it’s become known as “white gold”.
Depending on who you talk to, the mine Rio Tinto wants to build is an economic, political, and green-energy opportunity or an environmental and agricultural disaster.
Rio Tinto and the Serbian government are spruiking the possibilities but thousands of citizens and several scientists fear the water, soil, and wildlife in the Jadar Valley will be destroyed.
Further afield, some powerful forces are also circling.
The German government, the European Union and big car manufacturers all stand to benefit if the mine is built because lithium is a critical component of the batteries that power electric vehicles.
Meanwhile, the US alleges Russia has been sowing disinformation among opponents.
Now, as the mining giant seeks government approvals, land, nature, money, power and livelihoods are all at stake.
Some people in Serbia’s Jadar Valley are concerned the mine could change vistas like this. (ABC News: Adrian Wilson)
As the world transitions to zero-emission, battery-powered vehicles, lithium is in high demand.
Rio Tinto believes it could extract 2.3 million tonnes of it from below the Jadar Valley, or enough to make batteries for 1 million electric vehicles a year for several decades.
“We’ve got enough for at least 40 years of mining, and that would be the largest, longest-life, highest-grade deposit in all of Europe,” managing director of Rio Tinto’s Jadar Project, Chad Blewitt, told the ABC.
The company claims the underground mine it hopes to build will “allow agriculture to continue above”.
“There’s not a big hole in the ground as with open pit mining,” Mr Blewitt said.
“[Underground mining] also allows very minimal impact on the environment, and it allows us to remediate in 40 or 50 years into the future so that the landscape almost looks exactly the same as it was before.”
Chad Blewitt says the mine would meet environmental standards. (ABC News: Adrian Wilson)
Serbians suspicious of Rio Tinto
Many Serbians are suspicious of Rio Tinto’s plans and believe the forests and farms in the Jadar Valley would be at risk if the mine is built.
Dairy farmer Zlatko Kokanović’s family has lived on land here for seven generations.
Rio Tinto has bought 50 nearby properties that are in its proposed 220-hectare mine footprint, and the company wants his too.
“I don’t have any intention of selling my property,” the father of five said.
“I live here with my family, I’ve made my business here and I have no intention of moving out.
“This land is sacred to me. It doesn’t have any monetary value.”
Rio Tinto has been buying up multiple properties in the Jadar Valley, hoping to get approval for the mine. (ABC News: Adrian Wilson)
Mr Kokanović, 48, has become one of the leaders of the large protest movement opposing the mine.
He told the ABC he had been arrested twice for the cause — once accused of assaulting police at a mass protest and another time at the blockade protest of a railway.
“We will defend ourselves with every legal and illegal means,” he said.
“I am fearless. I am not afraid to die. There are a lot of us who will defend this cause with our lives.”
Ljiljana Tomović, from the University of Belgrade, is among those opposed to the mine. (ABC News: Adrian Wilson)
Ljiljana Tomović, from the Faculty of Biology at the University of Belgrade, is one of several scientists against the mine.
“This is one of the most beautiful landscapes in Serbia,” Professor Tomović said.
“Both locals and scientists are very concerned that part of this landscape is going to be inevitably destroyed for many, many years … Even after the mine is closed, it’s not going to be the same.
“You cannot have both mining and biodiversity habitats and landscapes. It’s impossible.”
Professor Tomović said the poor environmental track record of mining companies around the world, including that of Rio Tinto, also concerned many Serbians.
Mr Blewitt acknowledges there are “definitely legitimate concerns” about historical mining practices, but is “confident” in the draft environmental impact statement the company has for this project.
“There has to be a societal choice here. Yes, there are going to be environmental impacts, but they are going to be below Serbian and EU environmental standards,” Mr Blewitt said.
“I think transparency is going to be key, particularly in the age of social media. You can’t hide anything anymore.”
Zlatko Kokanović’s family has farmed in the Jadar Valley for seven generations. (ABC News: Adrian Wilson)
Government sees ‘great opportunity’ for Serbia
Critics of the mine in the Jadar Valley remain dubious. They have stopped it once before and are determined to do it again.
After mass demonstrations across Serbia ahead of the 2022 general election, the government decided to halt the project.
But in July this year, Serbia’s Constitutional Court annulled that decision, saying it was unconstitutional and illegal.
Less than a week later, the government announced the project could proceed, subject to environmental, regulatory, and legal conditions.
Two days after that, President Aleksandar Vucic, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and EU energy commissioner Maros Sefcovic signed a deal in Belgrade granting EU car makers access to raw materials mined in Serbia, including lithium.
Germany is home to Europe’s largest car manufacturing industry, and production is crucial to its economy.
The EU — a trading bloc Serbia is a candidate to be a member of — hailed it as a “historic day”, with the deal aimed at reducing the union’s dependency on imports from America and Asia.
Serbia’s Mining and Energy Minister, Dubravka Djedović Handanovic, told the ABC the mine was “a great opportunity”.
“It would have a significant impact on the economy. It would really make an impact, not only in the region of west Serbia where those deposits are, but for the whole country,” she said.
“It would be [the] largest greenfield investment in Serbia up to date on one side, and on the other side, of course, it would create opportunity for new jobs.”
Dubravka Djedović Handanovic, Serbia’s mining and energy minister, says the mine could be a “great opportunity for Serbia”. (ABC News: Adrian Wilson)
Rio Tinto estimates there would be 3,500 jobs created during the mine’s construction and 1,300 permanent positions available once it was operating.
It expects the revenue generated would be $1.5 billion a year and taxes and royalties paid to Serbia would be $292 million a year.
Despite this, Ms Djedović Handanovic insists the mine is not a fait accompli.
She said her approval of the project was not guaranteed because Rio Tinto still had conditions to meet — a process expected to take about two years.
Serbians against the development say they believe the government has seen the potential cash injection and already made up its mind.
In August tens of thousands of people returned to the streets in protest, and there have been other large demonstrations since.
This month the ABC attended a rally in Loznica, the closest town to the Jadar Valley, where about 800 people gathered on a Wednesday evening to oppose the mine.
Some held placards and signs with slogans such as “Rio Tinto you will not dig”, and “We will not give up Jadar”.
People in the crowd said they held grave fears for the environment if the project went ahead and that they did not trust the assurances from Rio Tinto or their country’s government.
Many locals also argue their rural way of life could be irreparably harmed by things such as increased traffic and noise pollution.
A protester holds a placard reading “You shall not dig” during an October rally in Loznica. ( Reuters: Marko Djurica)
‘Disinformation’ fuelling opposition
The protests have not fazed Mr Blewitt, who says they are being fuelled by a “wave of disinformation around the project”.
Serbia’s mining minister also cited “disinformation”.
“There has been a really strong tide of negative campaigns about the project in the past few years and this has created … false information about the project,” Ms Djedović Handanovic said.
She added that she believed the disinformation was coming from local opponents as well as “interests against the project, probably outside of Serbia”.
Samples of jadarite, which contain lithium, extracted by Rio Tinto from the Jadar Valley. (ABC News: Adrian Wilson)
The US State Department’s Global Engagement Centre, whose remit is to counter disinformation abroad, told the ABC it suspected Russia could be involved in an effort to drive a wedge between Serbia and the West.
“The [centre] has conducted extensive research combing through available open-source materials and developed a verifiable timeline of linked events,” a State Department spokesperson said.
“Based on that, the Global Engagement Centre’s team of Russian disinformation experts considers it to be highly likely that the Kremlin has played a role in spreading this disinformation.”
Professor Tomović said she believed Russian interference in this issue was a “conspiracy theory” and said those making the accusations about misinformation stood to make a large profit if the project went ahead.
“As a scientist, it’s not my job to scare people. Our job is to tell the truth, according to our studies [and] information we obtain by research,” she said.
“And if [the mine] is too risky for human communities, for soil, for air pollution, or for water supplies and for biodiversity, it’s our job to say, ‘This is too risky. You have to stop because this is gambling with future generations.’ That’s our job.”
Opposition to the mine is strong in Serbia’s Jadar Valley. (ABC News: Adrian Wilson)
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Publish date : 2024-10-27 11:48:00
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