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(Bloomberg) — Environmental activists and opposition groups are set to gather in the center of Serbia’s capital on Saturday to demand a halt to the Rio Tinto Group’s $2.4 billion plans to open Europe’s biggest lithium mine.
The troubles highlight the challenges to building new mines in Europe, even as governments try to secure supplies of critical minerals like lithium that are crucial for the energy transition. For the world’s second-largest miner the Serbian mine has become a flagship development projects as it looks to dilute its dependence on iron ore.
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The project had been halted in 2022 to defuse widespread protests by environmental activists concerned that mining and processing the metal vital for battery production would result in heavy pollution. The country’s top court lifted the ban last month.
Saturday’s rally follows more than a dozen small protests across Serbia. There’s also anger against President Aleksandar Vucic’s strong support for the project.
Vucic’s administration has touted the project as a major boost to the economy. Finance Minister Sinisa Mali has said that lithium mining, if complemented by local production of batteries and electric vehicles, could add as much as €12 billion ($13 billion) annually to the nation’s economic output.
Last month, Serbian and EU officials signed an agreement on providing supplies of critical raw materials across the bloc, with lithium in focus. Mercedes Benz AG chief Ola Kaellenius and representatives from Stellantis NV carmaker also signed a letter of intent to invest in developing EV battery outputs.
The activists dismiss assurances from the government that the mine would adhere to strict environmental standards.
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