Western Balkans: Europe's future mining colony?

Are the Western Balkans becoming a mine of raw materials needed for the upcoming “green revolution”? Civil society organisations and many citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and North Macedonia answer resolutely: NO! The battle to protect the environment and health continues

The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has suspended the resolution of the government of the BiH Federation (one of the two constituent entities of the country) regarding the concession "for temporary use" to the British-Australian company Adriatic Metals of 7.24 hectares of forest land for the exploitation of lead, zinc, barite and precious metal deposits. Before adopting the controversial resolution, the FBiH government, led by Prime Minister Nermin Nikšić, excluded the General Prosecutor's Office of BiH, i.e. the state, from the decision-making process relating to the change in the intended use of the state-owned land in question.

The Constitutional Court's decision encouraged activists fighting to protect the environment and human health from the potential negative effects of the opening of new mines in BiH, denouncing numerous irregularities accompanying mining projects launched in different areas of the country.

In a climate characterised by poor management of public assets and the reluctance to implement valid projects in the field of territorial planning, the confirmation of the role of the state in the defence of the most precious public assets gives activists hope that Bosnia and Herzegovina can avoid to become "a buffet for foreign investors and companies who come here to satisfy their interests and accumulate profits".

Prime Minister Nikšić, however, said he was saddened by the Constitutional Court's decision which would have called into question "an attractive investment" due to a simple šikara [barren forest], as he has repeatedly defined the Vareš area affected by the controversial project.

The fact is that Adriatic Metals, although often far from the spotlight, obtained almost all the necessary authorisations for the project, currying favour with the authorities and hiding the abuses committed during the felling of a forest to build a road and a concrete mixing plant.

It remains to be seen how the situation will evolve regarding the complaint that, at the end of last year, the Directorate for Forestry of the Zenica-Doboj canton had filed against Adriatic Metals. The British-Australian company is accused of devastation and illegal felling of a state forest of high natural value, covering an area of 3000 square metres in the Vareš area.

Despite all the controversies, in March this year, in the presence of numerous officials, including British ambassador to Sarajevo Julian Reilly, Adriatic Metals solemnly inaugurated the first mine of “strategic raw materials” in BiH. The way has thus been opened for other projects to exploit the immense mineral resources available to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The entire affair is part of a broader framework characterised by the EU's attempt to free itself from commercial dependence on China and to increase its production of lithium and other strategic raw materials which it so badly needs for the announced "green revolution".

According to some estimates, zinc and lead worth a total of five billion Euros will be extracted in Vareš by 2050. The overall value of the entire project is staggering: 916 million dollars.

“An investment of 450 million, which created around 500 jobs, direct and indirect, should be fully supported by all authorities”, said Prime Minister Nikšić at the inauguration of the Rupice mine in Vareš.

However, the actual and potential impact of "green" mines on the environment is a topic almost absent from public discourse and the mainstream media.

Political games around mines in North Macedonia

There are currently no lithium extraction projects in North Macedonia. However, silver and copper deposits are being explored throughout the country. The latter is among the critical and strategic raw materials, crucial for the green and digital transition, i.e. for the transition from an economic system based on fossil fuels to an economy based on the use of mineral resources.

For almost ten years now the population of the south-eastern region of North Macedonia has been fighting to prevent the opening of a copper and gold mine near the villages of Ilovica and Štuka. Citizens warn of the possible disastrous consequences of extractive activities on the most fertile area of the country which makes up for the most part of the national production of vegetables.

In recent years the citizens' revolt has stemmed several environmentalist associations, including Zdrava Kotlina in Strumica, Eko dolina in Novo Selo and the civic initiative Spasimo strumičku kotlinu – zaustavimo rudnik smrti [Let's save the Strumica valley – let's stop the mine of death]. Several protests and roadblocks were organised, with a clear message: we don't want mines!

From 2004 to 2012 the American-Bulgarian company Phelps Dodge Vardar had conducted exploration activities in a location located one kilometre away from the villages of Ilovica and Štuka. Then the extraction was entrusted to a larger company, the British-Canadian multinational Euromax Resources, based in London, which announced its intention to invest hundreds of millions of Euros, to be spread over three decades, in the exploitation of the gold deposits and copper in Ilovica.

Over the last twenty years, the two companies have been involved in several criminal proceedings. At one point Euromax Resources was allowed to merge the two copper and gold concessions in Ilovica and Štuka, but [having not met the requirements] the state revoked the concessions. The company turned to the Administrative Court and lost the case in March this year. Now it is up to the Supreme Court to express its opinion on the case.

“The sentence states that the government, according to the Mining Raw Materials Law, is not obliged to merge the concessions, as requested by the company. Euromax Resources has appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court, and the ruling is now awaited. We'll see how it turns out. It's not the first time this has happened, the courts are playing ping pong with this case", explains Gjorgi Tanušev of Zdrava Kotlina.

Corrupt inspectorates

NGOs in the Strumica area stress that the population should not be afraid to oppose multinationals nor be discouraged by the divisions between the government and the judiciary. Numerous citizens have already expressed their discontent by participating in various protests and roadblocks, saying they are ready to defend their homes and farms since many of them live from agriculture. Citizens are concerned about the continuation of uncertainty which, in their opinion, is mainly fuelled by political games within the judiciary. They are convinced that, due to high levels of corruption and poverty, the environment they live in could become a victim of bad mining practices.

“Absolutely, there is no doubt, it has always been like this. We'll see how the situation evolves. We have two completely different inspection reports, drawn up by two state institutions. One inspectorate determined that the company has built adequate infrastructure to protect the environment, the other inspectorate came to the opposite conclusion. We know that the infrastructure has not been built, so it is clear which inspectorate is corrupt”, says Tanušev.

Our interlocutors agree that there is a tendency in North Macedonia to explore new copper and gold deposits. Although there are no lithium deposits, the country has reserves of other minerals fundamental for the European Union's energy transition. Activities to explore potential copper and gold deposits in Plavica, just over 100 kilometres from Ilovica-Štuka, have already been announced. In this area the risk of causing damage to the environment is enormous, also because there are several sources of drinking water used by the local population.

Opposition and majority, two opposing visions

Local NGOs have received guarantees from VMRO DPMNE, which returned to power in May [after seven years in opposition], that the laws will be respected and that the opening of the Ilovica-Štuka mine will not be allowed. As for the situation in Plavica, according to activists, the new majority has made it clear that the opening of a new mine would lead to the devastation of the environment, and the local population would pay the consequences.

After winning the elections of last May 8, the VMRO DPMNE created the new government at the end of June. In the years spent in opposition, the party has always reiterated that its opposition to the opening of a new mine in Ilovica-Štuka.

Meanwhile its MPs, with the support of other parties, approved the changes to the law on the organisation of ministries. The new legislation provides for the creation of the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Mineral Resources in place of the Directorate for Mines within the Ministry of Commerce. The reorganisation of the ministries – as underlined by the VMRO DPMNE – will allow greater emphasis to be placed on the mining sector.

While waiting for the first declarations of the new government, we went to see what the electoral programme of the VMRO DPMNE foresees regarding mining. It states that the party will support the opening of new raw material mines, not in Ilovica-Štuka, but in other locations, including Plavica.

“In the next period we will undertake to open a manganese mine in Stogovo, to assign – with appropriate methods – concessions for the exploitation of iron deposits in Tajmište-Kičevo and for a copper, gold and silver mine in Stogovo”. The programme of the VMRO DPMNE, entitled “Platforma 1198”, in addition to the locality of Plavica, also mentions the mountain of Crn Vrv in the municipalities of Kratovo and Probištip, and the assignment of concessions for the Lipkovo-Lojane area.

The consequences of geological explorations: dried up springs, dead horses

The population of the Ilovica-Štuka area has already experienced the consequences of geological research. Water sources and agricultural land have been contaminated, thousands of hectares of high natural value forests have been cut down. The first exploratory research and drilling began in 2004.

“Research and drilling have been going on for years. I believe there are over 400 wells. Since 2015, when the research concluded, the water sources have dried up several times. The aquifers are affected by what happens in the mountains. There have been cases of rinderpest, horses dying in Ilovica after drinking water from natural springs and wells, but also cases of fish dying in an artificial lake”, explains activist Gjorgi Tanušev.

Investors threaten arbitration

Last April 26, in the "Triling" programme on TV channel 24, an interview was published with Timothy Morgan-Wynne, director of the multinational Euromax Resources, who went to North Macedonia in the middle of the election campaign. When asked whether the purpose of his visit was to express his discontent with the progress of the Ilovica-Štuka project by putting pressure on the election candidates, Morgan-Wynne replied that his arrival coincided with the election campaign by pure chance.

He then specified that the project to open a copper and gold mine in southern Macedonia dates back to 2004, but that only now, having wasted a lot of time and money, has the company decided to resort to international arbitration.

“Our patience is over. Therefore, we will proceed with the arbitration. But as I already said, the next step of the [Skopje] government and state institutions is crucial. The ball is in their court. The issue can be resolved. And we would like it to be resolved. But after many attempts, unfortunately unsuccessful, to rely on the institutions and system of this country, we are forced to focus on arbitration", explained Timothy Morgan-Wynne.

For Gjorgi Tanušev, the threats of arbitration, which have been going on for years now, prove that Euromax Resources is wrong. The company – claims the activist – cannot win an arbitration due to inadequate documentation and violations of the law regarding obtaining permits and concessions, research and environmental protection.

“The arbitration will uncover who was late, who didn't have the necessary documents, why they didn't have them, who delivers the documents on the last day, what the deadlines are. The law must be respected in every sense, they cannot invent their own laws. For two years now they have been saying they want to start arbitration to resolve the controversy with the state, but they don't do it because they are wrong. Otherwise, they would have done it long ago”, comments Tanušev.

According to Tanušev, arbitration can entail certain risks for the state only if corruptible people are involved, ready to unduly give public money.

“Their game – explains the activist – consists of threatening arbitration and asking the state for a billion Euros, in order to then be able to say: 'Let's not go to arbitration, let's find a compromise. Then they will agree, for example, on a figure of around 600 million Euros, not necessarily a billion. So everyone will legally steal from us, citizens, because that money will come from the budget. This is arbitration”.

In this case there have been no gag complaints, although some members of non-governmental organisations have received threats of legal action. They were told to give up, but they resisted. In 2019, thirty environmental organisations sided with the Strumica activists who received a warning for the positions expressed on social media against the company Euromax Resources which obtained the concession for the Ilovica-Štuka copper mine.

“The environmental activists of across the country have been the target of various acts of intimidation and attacks. This attitude towards environmentalist civil society is contrary to ecological democracy and the Aarhus Convention. It would be interesting to see these lawsuits. However, they avoid any debate, they are aware of what we know and this is a problem for them", argues Tanušev.

In 2018, the then government of Skopje terminated the contract for the construction of the Kazandol mine which was supposed to be built in the area of Bogdanci, Valandovo and Dojran. The Administrative Court confirmed the government's decision, establishing that the investor and the concessionaire, i.e. the company Euromax Resources, did not fulfil the obligation to build, within a period of two years, a plant for the exploitation of cathode copper with a treatment capacity equal to or greater than 50% of the quantity extracted. A referendum was organised in which the majority of the local population spoke out against the construction of the copper and gold mine.

Against SLAPP, the case of Hajrija Čobo

Four years ago, Hajrija Čobo, a charismatic civic activist from Kakanj, noticed that the water from one of the springs that abound in the forested expanses between the municipalities of Vareš and Kakanj was cloudy. The source is located at the foot of the Lipnica hill, where the Adriatic Metals company carries out its mining activities, and flows into the Trstionica River, which along with Bukovica supplies drinking water to around 30,000 inhabitants of Kakanj, in the heart of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This first shock was followed by others: the construction of a concrete mixing plant without any warning, the felling of trees in a groundwater protection zone and, above all, the discovery of the presence, in the water samples from Bukovica, of a quantity of cadmium exceeding the legal limits: all these events sparked strong protests from part of the population of Kakanj.

In the complaint filed with the Berne Convention Committee against Bosnia Herzegovina over the permits issued to Adriatic Metals company, Hajrija Čobo, professor of English language and literature and lawyer, underlined the threats to the environment and citizens' right to access drinking water, also warning about the potential negative effects of future mining activities on the environment and human health. Reacting to the complaint, the Committee recommended that Bosnia and Herzegovina suspend the activities of Adriatic Metals until the allegations made by Hajrija Čobo are verified.

“What good will a paltry compensation for damages do me if I don't have water to drink, and I won't have it, you understand, because the work is taking place on a hill permeated with water in the same way that the human body is permeated with veins. Once heavy metals are released into the groundwater, it's over, there's no going back”, Čobo warned in a statement released to the Centre for Investigative Journalism (CIN) in Sarajevo.

Reacting to this statement, in October 2023, Adriatic Metals filed a defamation lawsuit against Hajrija Čobo, demanding compensation for moral damages in the amount of 2000 marks (approximately 1000 Euros) with default interest from the date of publication of the investigation by CIN . Civil society organisations gathered in the informal EkoBiH network, as well as various international associations, have expressed strong support for the activist, underlining that this is a classic case of SLAPP.

Čobo wrote a defense of over 470 pages, preparing a mass of documents with which she intended to wage a legal battle. Four months later, Adriatic Metals decided to withdraw the lawsuit.

According to Bosnian-Herzegovinian legislation, the consent of the plaintiff is required to withdraw a complaint. Hajrija Čobo refused to give her consent and officially informed the Kakanj court of this, proposing to abandon the lawsuit and compensate the plaintiff for the costs of the proceedings.

“If my proposal is not accepted, the criminal proceedings will continue, because this is no longer just my fight, it is a fight of all the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina against a classic example of colonialism”, specified the activist in a statement released to the media.
Meanwhile, the Kakanj court rejected the lawsuit filed by Adriatic Metals against Hajrija Čobo. Besides being a personal victory for Hajrija, this is also a symbolic victory of the individual against corporate interests.

The law on geological research and the moratorium on mining in Majevica

A complicated administrative structure, rampant corruption and a complex political system to say the least, plus the idea that the exploitation of minerals fundamental for the "green industry" can bring Bosnia Herzegovina out of the post-war crisis – all these elements contribute to the state's inertia in protecting its natural resources. Bosnia and Herzegovina is known for its immense biodiversity and great potential for the development of organic agriculture and sustainable tourism.

On the other hand, the authorities react promptly when it comes to adopting measures in favour of foreign investors. The approval of a new law on geological research in Republika Srpska is expected in the second half of this year. The legislative proposal plans to exclude local communities from decision-making processes regarding mining activities and to increase the maximum quantity of raw material that can be removed, to test its properties and quality, from the current 200 to as many as 10,000 cubic metres.

“The purpose of the proposed law – states the text – is to encourage the economic development of Republika Srpska by creating a stimulating legal framework for investments in geological research, respecting the rules on environmental protection”. This is the third law on geological exploration proposed in the last five or six years.

In addition to the desire to favour investors and facilitate the obtaining of permits, what pushed the authorities of the Republika Srpska to propose a new law was the decision of some mayors of the municipalities in the area affected by the geological explorations to openly oppose the opening of a mine in Majevica. Mayors fear negative consequences for the environment and human health, such as those witnessed in neighbouring Serbia.

The mayor of Lopare launched a petition to ban the opening of mines on the Majevica mountain which overlooks the fertile land of Semberija, which was signed by over 3,700 inhabitants of the small municipality. Then, the idea was reached of asking the People's Assembly of Republika Srpska to adopt a declaration against the opening of lithium, boron, sodium, strontium, potassium mines and other associated elements in the Lopare area. The declaration was not adopted due to too many "undecided" MPs.

“So, we continued our fight for natural resources. Those elected by the people should listen to what the inhabitants of these areas think about the direction of development of our country. Do we want BiH to become a huge mine or to develop in a direction where public health is the priority, so as to allow the population to stay in these areas and to preserve clean water, soil and air, rather than leave and let the country turn into a desert? If there is a paradise on earth, it is our country. Let's not ruin it out of greed". This is how Snežana Jagodić Vujić, a long-time activist of the “Naš put” [Our Way] association from Bijeljina, commented on the failure to approve the Declaration on the moratorium on mining in Majevica. To date the Bijeljina association, in collaboration with other NGOs in Republika Srpska, has organised four public meetings to inform citizens about the potential risks of extracting raw materials harmful to health and the environment.

The Lopare project

In the Lopare area, in the north-east of Bosnia and Herzegovina, after three years of exploration of large deposits of lithium, magnesium, potassium and boron carbonate, the Swiss company Arcore AG has announced that its project has "enormous potential to guarantee greater independence from imports and the supply of critical raw materials across Europe for several decades”. The value of the discovered reserves – approximately ten million tons of boron and one million tons of lithium – is estimated at ten billion dollars.
In the press releases issued, the company also stated that, after obtaining the authorisation for mining in the Lopare area, from the end of 2026 it will be able to start "an ecologically and socially responsible mining activity". Words which, however, did not convince the local population.

Lopare is located in a picturesque area, where the view from Majevica mountain descends towards the fertile plains of Semberija and Posavina.

“In recent years, several exploratory drillings have been carried out in this place with disastrous consequences for the environment. Many things have been done away from the spotlight, Lopare's entire project is shrouded in mystery. The population was completely unaware of the fact that the company had obtained permits for exploration activities already in 2018. After learning about the exploration activities from the media, in December last year we organised the first public meeting in Lopare, also attended by the mayor”, explains Snežana Jagodić Vujić.

The association “Čuvari Majevice” [Guardians of Majevica] conducted an independent analysis of water samples taken from three different points in the area where exploratory drilling took place. “The Bijeljina Water Institute has ascertained the presence of heavy metals in these samples, but we are still waiting for an expert analysis of the results”, explains Adriana Pekić from the “Čuvari Majevice” association.

The concerns of the activists – who fear that the exploration activities carried out in an area of about twenty square kilometres have not been accompanied by adequate environmental protection procedures – are shared by the local population. Jovan from Lopare Selo explains that over a year ago a team of technicians dug four exploratory wells on his property, filling them with a liquid. Shortly afterwards, a cloudy liquid leaked from one of the wells and spilled onto the surrounding land, covering it with toxic sludge. The team never returned, although they promised they would restore the land to its original state.

“I allowed them to drill, but I didn't know it was an environmental bomb. They also carried out drilling in Labucka, at the foot of Mount Majevica, now there is a desert there", says Jovan, whose only daughter recently moved to Germany. “We'll all leave”, complains Jovan, “grass no longer even grows here”.

His neighbour, Desanka Simkić, explains that she is forced to go far to get water and bring it home in jerrycans. “We used to have cows, sheep, chickens, greenhouses… we had our water, three springs, now all dried up. We dug six wells, but we couldn't find water”, Desanka says with despair.

The Lopare project is currently stalled. The exploratory research has concluded and the investor, Arcore AG, has until January 2025 to request the concession for the exploitation of the minerals in this area. The company counts on the support of its strategic partner, Canadian Rock Tech, which invests heavily in lithium technologies and is rapidly expanding.

The battle for Ozren

Like the population of Lopare, the inhabitants of the town of Petrovo, located in an agricultural area on Mount Ozren, rich in forestry and mineral resources, were not informed of the start of exploratory research in the territory of their municipality.

The Territorial Plan of Republika Srpska defines Mount Ozren as a protected area. Currently, however, only the Gostilj peak is officially placed under protection, known for the traditional collection of mountain Teucrium used for therapeutic purposes. Agricultural production, tourism and the cultivation of medicinal plants are just some of the reasons that pushed the local population to oppose the announced opening of a mine by the Medeni brijeg company, affiliated to the Australian company Lykos.

In the autumn of 2021 Lykos began exploration of nickel and cobalt deposits, after obtaining permission from the Ministry of Energy and Mining of Republika Srpska, with the consent of the Petrovo city council. The inhabitants knew nothing about it until they came across exploratory teams.

“They had the misfortune of arriving in a village inhabited by skeptical, enterprising and determined people. We quickly discovered that they intended to extract nickel, a carcinogenic metal, using large quantities of sulfuric acid, as in the case of lithium extraction”, explains Zoran Poljašević, president of the association “Ozrenski studenac” [Ozren's source].

Less than a month later, following the protests that broke out in Petrovo, the city council, upon the mayor's proposal, revoked the permit issued to the Lykos company.

“Their problem is that they disclose all the information to the Australian stock exchange. So we learnt all the details of the project, where they were drilling and where they intended to work. For these operations the company had to obtain the consent of the owners of the land involved. However, it emerged that at least five owners had not given their consent. We sent their declarations to the Ministry of Energy. On May 31, 2022, the ministry revoked the permit for exploration activity”, explains Poljašević.

About twenty days earlier a helicopter had been spotted in the nearby town of Doboj which, according to activists, was linked to the Lykos company's project to extend exploration activity west of Petrovo. The activists asked the Civil Aviation Directorate of BiH for clarification on the matter. “They told us that they had noticed the helicopter but it did not have permission to fly over residential areas. This is why we filed a complaint against Lykos”, specifies Poljašević, announcing his intention to continue the battle for Ozren and to organise several public meetings throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“This is about our property, our country. Things that are priceless! Green extraction is an oxymoron, it is impossible, especially for heavy metals, the extraction of which, but also the exploration, entails serious consequences for the environment. In 2012, the Srbija nikl company carried out exploratory drilling in three locations to locate nickel deposits. The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts had taken a clear position on the devastating consequences of such operations. This is the scientific position to which we appeal”, concludes the activist.

The Lykos company, as well as its subsidiary SNK Metali Bijeljina, is also facing resistance from the inhabitants of the municipality of Jezero, near Jajce. The population opposes the announced opening of a lead, zinc, copper, barite and related metals mine in the Sinjakovo area, which extends over the territory of three municipalities in eastern Bosnia: Mrkonjić Grad, Šipovo and Jezero. What arouses concern among the inhabitants of Jezero are the exploratory wells, the destruction of the forests, the risk of landslides and contamination of the aquifers and lakes of the Pliva, a true naturalistic pearl of BiH.

Milan Kovač, mayor of Šipovo, has twice included the proposal to authorise geological explorations on the agenda of the city council. Both times the proposal was rejected. “In our municipality there are six small and two large rivers, Janj and Pliva. All streams and small rivers flow into the Pliva, which continues towards Jajce where it flows into the Vrbas”, explained Milan Plavšić, municipal councillor of Šipovo, expressing his concern about the possible consequences of the announced mining project.

Serbia project

The Semberija plain, which extends for kilometres along the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, has been known since ancient times as "the breadbasket of Bosnia" thanks to its fertile agricultural land and lively grain processing activity. The Mačva, a fertile region of north-eastern Serbia, has carried the epithet of "breadbasket of Europe" since Roman times.

The “strategic raw materials” route, which the EU intends to use to obtain raw materials needed for green industry, crosses the Semberija to connect the fertile Mačva and Gornje Nedeljice in Serbia to the municipality of Lopare in eastern Bosnia. In Gornje Nedeljice the Rio Tinto company announced an investment of 2.4 billion dollars.

This project has also been defined as one of the most attractive investments in green mining on European soil, and is accompanied by protests from the local population, concerned about the contamination of aquifers and agricultural land during exploration activities carried out in the area. The revolt, which started from Gornje Nedeljice, spilled into the streets of Serbian cities with the message “Ne damo Jadar!” [Hands off Jadar].

“Everyone should know what lithium exploitation means. Even if the Jadar project were not implemented, the effects of pollution would not remain isolated, it would not only be the city of Loznica that would be threatened, but the entire valley of the Jadar, Drina and Sava rivers, up to Belgrade and beyond", warns Ratko Ristić, hydrologist and ecologist, professor at the Faculty of Forestry Sciences in Belgrade.

As Imre Krizmanić, professor at the Faculty of Biology in Belgrade, writes, if the exploitation of lithium were allowed, "we would be left with hundreds of thousands of hectares of devastated environment, agricultural land and unusable waterways, increasingly submerged by toxic waste”.

Gornje Nedeljice: hands off the Jadar!

The inhabitants of Gornje Nedeljice near Loznica, like the population of Lopare, rely on the results of the research of well-known Serbian professors, but also on their own witnessing of the contamination of agricultural land due to the leakage of fluids from the exploratory wells of the Rio Tinto company. Since 2004, in this agricultural region of Serbia, Rio Tinto has drilled 600 exploratory wells.

After the discovery of a new mineral called jadarite, a silicate of lithium and boron, a massive purchase campaign – at unbelievable prices – of agricultural land affected by the mining project was launched, accompanied by attempts to put pressure on the local population. Attempts – as underlined by the inhabitants – in which the leaders of the state also participated. Today some areas of Gornje Nedeljice resemble an area affected by a radioactive catastrophe.

“In this valley squeezed between two rivers, Jadar and Korenita, the Rio Tinto company, or rather its affiliate Rio Sava, wants to build a landfill for approximately 60 million cubic metres of toxic and carcinogenic waste resulting from the extraction of jadarite”, explains Nebojša Petković, a resident of Gornje Nedeljice. Like most of his fellow villagers, Petković is fighting to defend over 500 hectares of fertile land, partly covered by forest vegetation, affected by the Jadar project.

Petković specifies that for the extraction of jadarite, as announced, a water pumping system would be used, with the use of 1,100 tons of sulphuric acid and 40 tons of dynamite per day, for a production of 58,000 tons of jadarite per year.

“The Rio Tinto company has existed for over 150 years and in this time it has caused, among other things, a civil war in Papua New Guinea, miners' strikes in Spain, the destruction of sacred caves in Australia, pollution in Mongolia and Madagascar… The Petković family arrived in this area before Rio Tinto and we will defend the lands inherited from our ancestors until the last day”, Petković states with determination.

The consequences of recent geological explorations are also visible in Gornje Nedeljice. From the wells, sealed and locked, a toxic liquid occasionally leaks out, contaminating the surrounding wheat fields. Therefore, the inhabitants – as Petković explains – are forced to remove large portions of soil to replace them with healthy soil.

In January 2022, in the wake of protests across the country, Belgrade suspended the project to open a mine and a jadarite processing plant in the Jadar River valley. Subsequently, however, the Serbian leadership has repeatedly defined that decision as a mistake. Meanwhile, Serbia signed a memorandum with InoBat, Rio Tinto's partner company, for the construction of a battery factory for electric vehicles, and then a letter of intent with the EU in the sector of critical raw materials, which includes also lithium.

Nebojša Petković and other inhabitants of Gornje Nedeljice, united in the association “Ne damo Jadar!” [Hands off the Jadar], are determined to continue their battle.
“The company has not given up on the project. The government has not given up on the project. We are not giving up the fight!”.

The final question

The fear of an environmental disaster, linked to the exploitation of lithium, has resurfaced among Serbian citizens after the adoption of the controversial European regulation on critical raw materials and after the announcement of the last phase of negotiations between the European Commission and Serbia on a memorandum of understanding for a strategic partnership in the sector of batteries and critical raw materials.

After Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić told the Financial Times in mid-June that “new guarantees” from the global mining giant and the EU appear to have responded to Serbia's concerns regarding compliance with environmental standards in the Jadar River Valley, the population of Western Serbia began to prepare for new protests. Citizens interpreted Vučić's statements as the announcement of the Serbian leadership's willingness to allow the Rio Tinto company to restart the project of the largest lithium mine on European soil.

Two years ago, in the wake of massive environmental protests across Serbia, and thanks to the support of 30,000 citizens who had signed a petition against the lithium mine, the Belgrade government revoked the permits for the Jadar project. The value of the project – which, as announced, could satisfy 90% of Europe's current lithium needs – is estimated at 2.4 billion dollars.

Serbia is among the first potential suppliers of critical raw materials to the EU, in particular lithium, the metal of choice for the production of batteries for electric vehicles and mobile devices.

The Serbian academic community continues to question the European Green Deal which sees Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina as an important source of raw materials that could in the future supply the European industry with critical metals, including lithium.

The controversial European regulation on critical raw materials (Critical Raw Materials Act – CRMA ) provides, among other things, that some mineral exploitation projects, crucial for the industry of the future, be declared strategic. This means less bureaucracy, administrative relief, strategic partnerships, incentives for innovation and businesses, possible agreements with "friendly countries", including the Western Balkans.

Critics of the Brussels initiative argue that the new legislation favours mining projects to the detriment of environmental protection and the rights of the population of the Western Balkans. At the same time, they warn about poor “green mining” practices in other parts of the world, but also about the fact that many large deposits of strategic raw materials in other European countries are not exploited at all.

In November 2023, more than 130 organisations and over 100 experts and academics from thirty countries sent an open letter to Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, demanding that the proposed European law on critical raw materials be withdrawn. In a few days, 60,000 people signed a petition against the law proposal. The signatories believe that the law threatens human and environmental rights.

The requests of the signatories of the petition are shared by the activists gathered in the informal EkoBiH network who in recent years, together with the rest of the population of Bosnia and Herzegovina, have witnessed a mining boom, accompanied by non-transparent procedures, aggressive media campaigns on the advantages of " green mining” in BiH and clashes with civil society activists.

We started from the question: are the Western Balkans really the future mining colony of Europe? We conclude by wondering: will economic interests or the public interest win?

This article was produced within the framework of the Collaborative and Investigative Journalism Initiative (CIJI ), a project co-funded by the European Commission. Responsibility for the contents of this article lies with Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa and does not in any way reflect the opinion of the European Union. Go to the project page

 

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