Residents of Serbia's lithium-rich region vow to block EU-backed mining
Residents of a tiny village in western Serbia don’t care if their government has agreed with the European Union to open a lithium mine in their sprawling valley: They say it is never going to happen
GORNJE NEDELJICE, Serbia — Zlatko Kokanović does not want a lithium mine in his backyard and he will do anything he can to stop it from opening.
“All of us here, we are ready to lose our lives," the 48-year farmer told The Associated Press. «They can shoot. That is the only way they can open the mine.”
At stake is a lush farming valley in western Serbia that holds one of Europe's richest deposits of lithium, a precious metal that is used to make batteries for electric cars and is crucial for the global transition to green energy.
Whether there should be a mine in the valley or not has become one of the most contentious issues in the Balkan nation, triggering protests by thousands of people in a challenge to the populist President Aleksandar Vučić.
While the government insists the mine is an opportunity for economic development, critics say it would inflict irreparable pollution on the Jadar valley, along with underground water reserves, farm land and two small rivers that run through the valley.
Thousands are expected to show up for a major rally on Saturday in the capital Belgrade, calling for a law to ban lithium mining anywhere in Serbia.
Kokanovic will be there with his “Ne Damo Jadar,” or “We Won't Give up Jadar» group.
“We are not interested in their profits. We were raised on this land and we will die on this land,” said Kokanović, who has five children. «This land is nobody's property, it belongs to our children.”
Exploration of the lithium and boron deposits in the Jadar valley has been done by multinational Rio
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