🌱 What is lithium used for?
Lithium is a key component in batteries. The metal is used in both the batteries of mobile devices and electrical vehicles (EVs). It is therefore also considered to be strategically valuable for the energy transition.
🌱 How much lithium could be produced in Serbia?
There are large deposits of lithium in the city of Loznica in the Jadar valley in the west of Serbia. If these deposits were mined, they “could cover 90% of Europe's current lithium needs”. The mine would be “Europe’s largest lithium mining operation” and would make the Anglo-Australian mining company, Rio Tinto “one of the world's leading lithium producers”. The planned $2.4 billion project could produce around 58 000 tonnes of lithium carbonate (or 11 000 tonnes of pure lithium) annually. For reference, the production of a typical 60kWh EV battery is estimated to need approximately 50kg of lithium carbonate (or 9.4kg of pure lithium). This means the Serbian deposits could be used to produce over a million such batteries. The Serbian government has, however, said that it could take another two years to attain the permits needed to commence the project’s construction.
🌱 Who is backing the mine?
The lithium deposits were already discovered in 2004, and Rio Tinto wants to mine these. Yet, after weeks of mass protests, the government had to halt the project in January 2022. The project was revived in July 2024, after a court ruled that the order to revoke the permits awarded to Rio Tinto in the past was “not in line with the constitution and the law”. Shortly thereafter, the Serbian government gave a green light for the project to restart. The government says that the project could contribute up to €12bn to Serbia’s economy, if it was paired with local battery and electric vehicle production. When the project was restarted, the Serbian government and the EU signed a memorandum of understanding around the development of the mine. By backing the project and granting “producers from EU member states access to raw materials mined in Serbia”, the EU hopes to reduce its dependency on imports from Asia and the USA.
🌱 Why is the project unpopular?
The Serbian President, Aleksandar Vucic has repeatedly promised that the mining operations will not commence “until guarantees about environmental safety protocols are established”. Despite this, the lithium mining project is still unpopular due to concerns that the mine could pollute the land and water sources – and therewith endanger public health. There are also questions around the just distribution of the expected burdens, as “pretty much nobody in Serbia can afford” to buy an EV.
🌱 Why are there protests?
Green groups have called on people to join mass protests against the mine. Since the mine’s licenses were reinstated in July, there have been nearly 50 demonstrations held across Serbia. The demonstrators and environmental activists are hoping to move the government to stop the project. They are also calling on legislators to pass a law to permanently ban the mining of lithium and boron in Serbia. When the deadline set for this demand elapsed on 10 August 2024, around 30 000 people protested in Belgrade. Some of the protestors also blocked two railway stations.
Read more about the planned lithium mining here:
- https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cged9qgwrvyo
- https://www.politico.eu/article/huge-lithium-mining-protest-triggers-crisis-meeting-in-serbia/
- https://www.dw.com/en/serbia-protests-over-vast-rio-tinto-lithium-mining-project/a-69910000
- https://www.france24.com/en/video/20240811-thousands-protest-in-serbia-against-lithium-mine-project
- https://www.mining-technology.com/news/rio-tintos-serbia-lithium-risks/