erbian President Aleksandar Vucic is one of the few leaders who has firm backing from all major global powers—the United States, the European Union, China, and Russia. As such, he feels confident enough to implement various controversial projects in Serbia, including Germany’s alleged ambition to begin exploiting lithium in the southeastern European country.
On 19 July 2024, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič locked down a series of deals granting the EU exclusive access to Serbian lithium. This mineral, sometimes dubbed “white gold,” is in high demand due to its critical role in the green energy transition, especially for use in the batteries that power electric vehicles.
It is British–Australian mining giant Rio Tinto (in which the Aluminum Corporation of China Limited is an important shareholder) that is expected to open Europe's largest lithium mine in western Serbia, and to begin to exploit the mineral as early as 2028. But recent polls show that 55% of the Serbian population strongly opposes the idea, while only 25% support Rio Tinto’s plans.
That is why, over the past month, a series of protests were held all over the Balkan country, including a large gathering in the capital Belgrade on 10 August 2024. Following the protests, environmental activists marched toward the Serbian capital’s two main railway stations, pledging to block train traffic until their demands that lithium mining be officially banned are met.
But Serbia’s populist leader is very unlikely to back down, as he feels a strong support from foreign powers operating in the southeast European country. The UK ambassador to Serbia, Edward Ferguson, claims that it is “absolutely possible to extract lithium in an environmentally safe manner,” while German ambassador Anke Konrad recently said that lithium is “necessary and important to Germany,” and that this raw material “must be available.” Also, one day before the large protest in Belgrade, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova emphasized that “certain malicious forces attempt to activate their well–known destructive arsenal with the aim of undermining the internal political situation in Serbia."
The Kremlin yet again indirectly supported Vucic, despite the fact that his government exported weapons worth 800 billion euros ($874 million) to Ukraine via third parties. China, for its part, remains silent over the lithium matter, although its mining giant Zijin Copper company has been operating the copper and gold mines in eastern Serbia since 2018. Over the years, critics have been accusing the Serbian government of turning a blind eye to the environmental impact of those mines. That is why large parts of the Serbian population fear that Rio Tinto, having a history of environmental pollution, will irreversibly pollute land and water in western Serbia.
But since Vucic can count on foreign support, the chances of preventing Rio Tinto from exploiting Serbian lithium remain very low. Still, the fact that United States Ambassador to Serbia Richard Hill said that Washington “does not have an official stance on that issue,” pointing out that it is “up to the Serbs to decide, not for foreign diplomats to make decisions on their behalf,” gives environmental activists a ray of hope.
But it remains to be seen how the U.S. really views Germany’s plans to use Serbian lithium to develop its electric vehicle industry. While Hill remains relatively neutral, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Geoffrey Pyatt openly supports Rio Tinto’s project, claiming that it is “priority for the European Union” and that it also represents “an opportunity for Serbia.”
Critics, however, insist that Belgrade would earn only 31 million euros ($33.8 million), as the country has a very low mining rent fee: 3% of revenue. Vucic, on the other hand, argues that lithium is a “tool for Serbia's progress,” and that people living in the region where Rio Tinto will exploit the mineral “won't know what to do with the money" they will reportedly earn working for the multinational corporation.
The mine in western Serbia is expected to produce 58,000 tons of lithium per year, equating to 17% of European electric vehicle production or 1.1 million cars. The problem, however, is that lithium extraction often involves intensive water use in the mining and extraction processes, which can impact local water resources. Another issue is that the extraction and processing of lithium require considerable energy. Could that be the reason why Belgrade plans to buy small modular nuclear reactors from Western producers?
From a geopolitical perspective, Rio Tinto’s operations in Serbia will undoubtedly strengthen Western influence in the country. That, however, does not mean that Serbia, an EU hopeful, will join the 27–nation bloc anytime soon, if at all. If lithium extraction really has negative environmental impacts, Brussels can always say that Belgrade does not follow the European environmental policy, and as such it cannot become the EU’s full–fledged member.
But that is the last thing that worries environmental activists, as well as people who oppose Rio Tinto’s agenda in Serbia. According to reports, the Serbian government plans to open dozens of mines all over the country. Neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia might reportedly face the same fate, which is why there are growing fears in the region that this part of Europe could soon become the EU’s “mining colony.”
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In Serbia, a battle over the ‘white gold’ of lithium
Photo by MiningWatch Portugal on Unsplash.
August 19, 2024
The greedy quest for the 'white gold' of lithium, crucial to the green energy revolution, is roiling Serbia as global superpowers seek to extract the nation's resources, writes Nikola Mikovic.
S
erbian President Aleksandar Vucic is one of the few leaders who has firm backing from all major global powers—the United States, the European Union, China, and Russia. As such, he feels confident enough to implement various controversial projects in Serbia, including Germany’s alleged ambition to begin exploiting lithium in the southeastern European country.
On 19 July 2024, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič locked down a series of deals granting the EU exclusive access to Serbian lithium. This mineral, sometimes dubbed “white gold,” is in high demand due to its critical role in the green energy transition, especially for use in the batteries that power electric vehicles.
It is British–Australian mining giant Rio Tinto (in which the Aluminum Corporation of China Limited is an important shareholder) that is expected to open Europe's largest lithium mine in western Serbia, and to begin to exploit the mineral as early as 2028. But recent polls show that 55% of the Serbian population strongly opposes the idea, while only 25% support Rio Tinto’s plans.
That is why, over the past month, a series of protests were held all over the Balkan country, including a large gathering in the capital Belgrade on 10 August 2024. Following the protests, environmental activists marched toward the Serbian capital’s two main railway stations, pledging to block train traffic until their demands that lithium mining be officially banned are met.
But Serbia’s populist leader is very unlikely to back down, as he feels a strong support from foreign powers operating in the southeast European country. The UK ambassador to Serbia, Edward Ferguson, claims that it is “absolutely possible to extract lithium in an environmentally safe manner,” while German ambassador Anke Konrad recently said that lithium is “necessary and important to Germany,” and that this raw material “must be available.” Also, one day before the large protest in Belgrade, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova emphasized that “certain malicious forces attempt to activate their well–known destructive arsenal with the aim of undermining the internal political situation in Serbia."
The Kremlin yet again indirectly supported Vucic, despite the fact that his government exported weapons worth 800 billion euros ($874 million) to Ukraine via third parties. China, for its part, remains silent over the lithium matter, although its mining giant Zijin Copper company has been operating the copper and gold mines in eastern Serbia since 2018. Over the years, critics have been accusing the Serbian government of turning a blind eye to the environmental impact of those mines. That is why large parts of the Serbian population fear that Rio Tinto, having a history of environmental pollution, will irreversibly pollute land and water in western Serbia.
But since Vucic can count on foreign support, the chances of preventing Rio Tinto from exploiting Serbian lithium remain very low. Still, the fact that United States Ambassador to Serbia Richard Hill said that Washington “does not have an official stance on that issue,” pointing out that it is “up to the Serbs to decide, not for foreign diplomats to make decisions on their behalf,” gives environmental activists a ray of hope.
But it remains to be seen how the U.S. really views Germany’s plans to use Serbian lithium to develop its electric vehicle industry. While Hill remains relatively neutral, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Geoffrey Pyatt openly supports Rio Tinto’s project, claiming that it is “priority for the European Union” and that it also represents “an opportunity for Serbia.”
Critics, however, insist that Belgrade would earn only 31 million euros ($33.8 million), as the country has a very low mining rent fee: 3% of revenue. Vucic, on the other hand, argues that lithium is a “tool for Serbia's progress,” and that people living in the region where Rio Tinto will exploit the mineral “won't know what to do with the money" they will reportedly earn working for the multinational corporation.
The mine in western Serbia is expected to produce 58,000 tons of lithium per year, equating to 17% of European electric vehicle production or 1.1 million cars. The problem, however, is that lithium extraction often involves intensive water use in the mining and extraction processes, which can impact local water resources. Another issue is that the extraction and processing of lithium require considerable energy. Could that be the reason why Belgrade plans to buy small modular nuclear reactors from Western producers?
From a geopolitical perspective, Rio Tinto’s operations in Serbia will undoubtedly strengthen Western influence in the country. That, however, does not mean that Serbia, an EU hopeful, will join the 27–nation bloc anytime soon, if at all. If lithium extraction really has negative environmental impacts, Brussels can always say that Belgrade does not follow the European environmental policy, and as such it cannot become the EU’s full–fledged member.
But that is the last thing that worries environmental activists, as well as people who oppose Rio Tinto’s agenda in Serbia. According to reports, the Serbian government plans to open dozens of mines all over the country. Neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia might reportedly face the same fate, which is why there are growing fears in the region that this part of Europe could soon become the EU’s “mining colony.”
