BELGRADE (Parliament Politics Magazine): Serbia’s populist government decided to suspend all licences for mining company Rio Tinto, which intended opening a lithium mine near the town of Loznica in the country’s west to defuse huge demonstrations by environmentalists.
In a televised statement on Thursday, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabi said, “We have fulfilled all the requests of the environmental protests and put an end to Rio Tinto in the Republic of Serbia,”
“Everything has been done. It’s finished.”
Despite an intimidation effort by authorities, thousands of protesters in Belgrade and other Serbian cities have stopped important bridges and roads, protesting the planned mine in west of Serbia.
Opponents claim that the project will have a significant negative impact on the environment.
As the world transitions to more renewable sources of energy, lithium, which is abundant along Serbia’s border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, is recognised as one of the most wanted metals of the future.
The protests, which also highlighted the country’s growing pollution problem, posed the most serious challenge still to President Aleksandar Vui’s increasingly autocratic leadership, which has condemned the road blockades as unlawful and said they were being funded from overseas to destabilise the nation.
All of Rio Tinto’s licences, according to Brnabić, were granted by the previous pro-Western government. Rio Tinto has been examining mining opportunities in the country for over two decades.
However, according to Serbia’s independent media, the key contracts with Rio Tinto were linked with the current right-wing government.
Rio Tinto issued a statement earlier Thursday expressing “worry” over rumours that the project will be cancelled.
Any choice should be accompanied by conversation and discussion based on facts according to the business.
It went on to say that it is committed to carrying out the project in conformity with Serbian and international laws.
“Rio Tinto is not a threat to us,” Brnabić remarked.“We are here for our people and our country. They can do whatever they think they should do. This is the final decision of the government of the Republic of Serbia.”
Some are afraid that Serbia, which is ostensibly seeking European Union membership while also building close connections with China and Russia, may wish to pass over lithium mining to China by excluding Rio Tinto from the €2.1 billion project.
Rio Tinto has been accused of environmental degradation, corruption, and human rights violations at its mining locations throughout its nearly 150-year history.