Serbia: Tens of Thousands Protest Against Lithium Mining Project
Serbia: Tens of Thousands protestProtest againstAgainst lithiumLithium miningMining in SerbiaProject
The Facts
On Saturday, tens of thousands of protesters went through Belgrade, Serbia, to protest plans to mine one of Europe's largest lithium resources in the Jadar Valley, which activists warn would cause permanent ecological damage.Tens of thousands of protesters went through Belgrade, Serbia, on Saturday to protest plans to mine the Jadar Valley, one of Europe's largest lithium deposit, amid concerns over potential ecological damage.
In 2022, protests stopped the lithium mine, but a deal with the EU on "critical raw materials" last month revived Rio Tinto's mining plans to drastically reduce Europe's lithium shortages, which are essential for EV batteries and Europe's green energy transition.This is reminiscent of protests that successfully stopped the plan to lithium mine two years ago, and comes as a tentative deal with the EU on "critical raw materials" last month revived mining plans in Serbia.
The Spin
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This project is as good for theSerbia EU, as wellit asis for Serbiathe EU. RioThe Tinto’s planned lithium mine inis theset Jadarto Valley will provide theEurope EU with critical raw materials, andreducing enable Europe to reduce its dependence on Chinese imports for mobile phones and EV batteries., Thewhile mineattracting is essential for the success of Europe’s ‘Green New Deal’. It is expected that the project will attract a substantial amount of foreign direct investment to Serbia, reachingand billionspromoting ofjob euros.creation Additionally,in itthe will provide excellent opportunities for job creationcountry.