Controversial mining project is a political fault line in Balkan country over fears about environmental impacts.
Thousands hit the streets in Serbia’s capital Belgrade Saturday to protest against the rebooting of a controversial lithium mine set to serve as a vital source to power Europe’s green energy transition.
Before the rally, two leading protest figures said they were briefly detained by security officials who warned that any moves to block roads during the protest would be viewed as illegal.
Thousands chanted “Rio Tinto get out of Serbia” and “You won’t dig” as they rallied in downtown Belgrade before setting off on a march through the city.
Protesters later entered Belgrade’s main railway station where demonstrators blocked tracks, halting traffic.
Serbia has vast lithium deposits near the western city of Loznica, where a mining project being developed by the Anglo-Australian mining company Rio Tinto has been a perennial political fault line in the Balkan country in recent years over its potential environmental impacts.
The deposits were discovered in 2004, but weeks of mass protests forced the government to halt the project in 2022.
The government revived the project after a court decision last month that said the order to revoke the permits awarded to Rio Tinto was “not in line with the constitution and the law”.
More information at The Guardian.
