The recent events surrounding the opening of a lithium mine near Loznica, including citizen protests and assurances of significant investments and state revenues, are not the first of their kind in Serbia, though they are the most intense.
A few days ago, during an appearance on TV Nova S, former Serbian President Boris Tadić stated that the then-government rejected a request from investors to open two nickel mines in Serbia during the global economic crisis.
“During our mandate, we had an investment of one billion euros for nickel exploitation in the middle of the biggest economic crisis, but we did not allow it because they did not meet the conditions. There was a billion-euro investment at Mećavnik and another billion euros for a mine near Vrnjačka Banja. That’s two billion euros during an economic crisis. A huge global company was behind the request to mine nickel, but we resisted,” said Tadić.
A few weeks earlier, Vladeta Janković, speaking on NIN’s podcast, responded to attacks from current government representatives who accused him of bringing Rio Tinto to Serbia during his tenure as Serbia’s ambassador to England.
“They wanted to see Koštunica as the prime minister for nickel exploitation, not lithium and not in Jadar, but in Mokra Gora. He could not, did not want to meet them, so I met with them. They said the state’s revenue would be around a billion dollars, but they didn’t mention offering a billion-dollar bribe. I listened to them, then reported back to the prime minister,” said Janković.
Vladeta Janković told Danas that United Mining explored nickel near Mokra Gora and wanted to exploit it.
“They said the state’s revenue would be a billion euros. The government rejected it, and I made an official note and informed them. It wouldn’t surprise me if they tried again with the next government,” Janković said.
Aleksandar Popović, then Minister of Science and Environmental Protection, said that his ministry at the time gave an opinion on the project that was not positive.
We were unable to get comments from Boris Tadić or the subsequent Prime Minister Mirko Cvetković, but the idea of nickel mining in Mokra Gora resurfaced in 2012 and 2013 when the SNS came to power.
The English company European Nickel obtained a permit for exploration in Mokra Gora in 2004 but never received a license for exploitation due to significant public opposition, primarily from local governments.
Later, during the DS government, the company Serbia Nickel obtained exploration rights not only for Mokra Gora but also for Trstenik-Vrnjačka Banja and Topola-Aranđelovac.
Apart from fierce opposition from residents, a significant opponent of nickel mining was Emir Kusturica, who built Drvengrad in Mokra Gora on Mećavnik.
Interestingly, as with lithium in 2021, a conference was held in the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU) in 2014 on the topic of nickel mining and its environmental impact.
“The opening of a nickel mine would cause more harm than good. The authorities are advised not to make such decisions without consulting scientific institutions,” said the then-president of SANU, Nikola Hajdin.
At that time, it was estimated that Serbia had 320 million tons of nickel, with 130 million tons geologically explored and balance reserves amounting to 20 million tons.
Nevertheless, representatives of the state, then already from the ranks of SNS, were not averse to nickel mining, as evidenced by a statement from the office of Minister of Mining Milan Bačević in September 2012: “Major global companies are interested in exploring this area, and according to current knowledge, the vicinity of Užice hides reserves of 100 million tons of nickel, which is Serbia’s development opportunity.”
For example, at a conference at the Faculty of Mining and Geology in October 2012, State Secretary of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Mining and Spatial Planning, Tomislav Šubaranović, said: “If it turns out that exploitation is profitable, following all ecological laws, the government is ready to become a strategic partner to companies, with the possibility of the state having a majority stake.”
He added that the state would gain “thousands of jobs and taxes for the state and local governments.”
Despite claims that Serbia sits on billions in nickel ore, nothing came of nickel mining.
This is confirmed by the Ministry of Mining and Energy, which in a written response to Danas stated that “there is no research or exploitation of nickel in the Republic of Serbia. The legal framework is more than clear. Geological research and exploitation of nickel can only be carried out with prior approval from the government.”
Additionally, nickel is one of the critical minerals for green transition and is on the list of minerals covered by the EU Critical Raw Materials Act.
Source : Danas
