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"There will be no mining" - is the message being carried forward by the protesters in the center of Belgrade, who gathered on Saturday to oppose the lithium mine.
Thousands of people have gathered in the protest organized by the Alliance of Organizations for the Environment of Serbia, after the Government has not fulfilled the demand of the protesters to approve a law within 40 days, which prohibits lithium mining and the opening of mines in the Jadar river valley. in the west of Serbia.
The protesters held the inscriptions, "Stop Rio Tinto, you will not dig", "No to mining, exploitation, emigration", "Rio Tinto, leave Serbia".
This is one of the 50 protests that the Serbs have held, starting from the end of June.
On July 11, the Constitutional Court of Serbia overturned the decision of the previous Serbian Government, which suspended the "Jadar" project of the Australian company "Rio Tinto" in 2022.
Many government officials have declared for the protests, and have agreed with the Serbian president, Aleksandar Vučić, that the main goal of the August 10 protest is "the overthrow of the Government".
Vucic has repeatedly spoken in positive tones about the "Jadar" project, and has said that the lithium mine should start working in 2026, if "guarantees are provided that the environment and people's lives will not be endangered".
Environmentalists, on the other hand, and part of the public, believe that the consequences are irreversible for the environment.
Lithium is used to make batteries for mobile phones, computers and electric cars.
The company Rio Tinto has discovered in 2004, a combination of lithium and boron, in the west of Serbia.
Reserves of this metal in Serbia are estimated at 158 million tons.
However, the Government led by the former prime minister, Ana Bërnabiç, stopped work on this project, after massive protests, and suspended the license for Rio Tinto.
But Serbian officials have brought the project back to life.
Vucic told the "Financial Times" daily in June that Rio Tinto has given new guarantees and that the European Union has responded to concerns about environmental standards.
Bërnabić, now the president of the Serbian Parliament, has said that it will be "abnormal" if Serbia goes ahead with the lithium mine, and that this country has strict standards for the environment.
Rio Tinto previously told RFE/RL that domestic and international experts have confirmed that the Jadar project will be completed safely and to the highest standards.
On August 6, the Serbian Minister of Health, Zoran Lonçar, presented a team of health experts who, according to him, will assess the impact of the lithium mine on people's health.
Some local and foreign experts estimate that the process of lithium exploitation is accompanied by environmental consequences, as well as water and soil pollution./ REL
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