GORNJE NEDELJICE, Serbia (AP) — Zlatko Kokanović is determined to prevent a lithium mine from being established in his community, willing to go to any lengths to stop it.
“All of us here are prepared to risk our lives,” the 48-year-old farmer told The Associated Press. “They can shoot us. That’s the only way they’ll open the mine.”
The dispute centers on a fertile farming valley in western Serbia, home to one of Europe’s richest lithium deposits, a vital resource for batteries in electric vehicles and the global transition to green energy.
The prospect of a mine in the valley has sparked one of the most heated debates in the Balkan country, igniting widespread protests against the populist President Aleksandar Vučić. While the government sees the mine as an economic opportunity, opponents warn it would cause irreversible environmental damage to the Jadar valley, including contamination of underground water, farmland, and the valley’s two small rivers.
Thousands are expected to attend a major rally on Saturday in the capital, Belgrade, demanding a law to ban lithium mining across Serbia.
Kokanović, with his group "Ne Damo Jadar" (We Won't Give Up Jadar), will be there.
“We don’t care about their profits. We were born on this land, and we will die on this land,” said Kokanović, a father of five. “This land doesn’t belong to anyone; it belongs to our children.”
For 20 years, the multinational mining company Rio Tinto has been exploring lithium and boron deposits in the Jadar valley and has developed plans to open a mine.
Throughout its 150-year history, Rio Tinto has faced accusations of corruption, environmental degradation, and human rights abuses at its sites, raising concerns among Jadar residents and Serbian environmental groups.
Mass protests in 2021 and 2022 forced the Serbian government to temporarily halt the mine project, but it was revived in July when the government signed a memorandum on “critical raw materials” with the EU in the presence of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Serbia's mining and energy minister, Dubravka Djedović Handanović, told the AP that the Jadar valley contains about 158 million tons of lithium, approximately 17% of Europe’s estimated reserves.
Jadar, she said, is “one of the best-explored lithium sites in Europe, and probably one of the best in the world," which could “position Serbia as a leading country not only in Europe but globally” in combating climate change.
Djedović Handanović signed the EU memorandum, which outlines a “strategic partnership” on sustainable raw materials, battery supply chains, and electric vehicles. The plan aims not only to export raw materials but also to advance new technologies in Serbia.
She assured that any mining operations would adhere to the highest EU standards, promising that “nothing will proceed if it poses such a significant negative impact.”
“If that’s the case, the project will not move forward,” she added, dismissing alleged “misinformation” about the project.
In response, the government has established a call center and a medical team to monitor potential health risks.
While the mine could bring Serbia closer to the EU and reduce the bloc's dependence on China for lithium, critics argue that the risks of lithium mining far outweigh the benefits.
Serbia, a candidate for EU membership, also maintains close ties with Russia and China, the latter owning the country's largest copper mine in eastern Serbia.
Dragana Djordjević, a research professor at Belgrade University and an environmental chemistry expert, is among a group of Serbian scholars who found in a study that exploration had already damaged the land in the Jadar valley.
Jadar, Djordjević said, is an agricultural region with underground water and rivers that frequently flood, potentially carrying toxic materials downstream. The mine poses “a huge risk to the entire region," she warned.
Rio Tinto has stated it would construct an underground mine following EU safety standards. In a brief email to the AP, the company’s Serbian subsidiary expressed support for “public dialogue based on facts” and referred to a draft environmental study inviting concerned parties to submit comments.
Officials have stated that the mine would not open before 2028. Vučić has dismissed the anti-lithium protests as politically motivated, orchestrated by unspecified foreign powers against him and the government.
In the valley, properties owned by Rio Tinto’s subsidiary, Rio Tinto Sava, are marked with “no trespassing” signs and sealed off with plastic tape. The mine would cover about 500 acres of the valley, which is currently filled with corn and soybean fields.
Vladan Jakovljević, in his 60s, lives in the village of Stupnica, in the hills overlooking the valley. He, too, refuses to give up his way of life, his beehives, and the healthy environment for his family.
“If the mine opens,” he said, “there will be no life for us.”
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