STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Think of this as a NIMBY story - Not In My Backyard. In this case, the backyard is in Serbia, and what a company wants to put there is a lithium mine. Electric carmakers around the world need more and more lithium for batteries. If you do not yourself own a lithium battery, one has almost certainly whizzed by you on the highway. People in Serbia are unimpressed. And thousands filled the streets of the Serbian capital over the weekend to protest environmental damage from this mine. NPR's Rob Schmitz just returned from the area and is here. Hi there, Rob.
ROB SCHMITZ, BYLINE: Good morning.
INSKEEP: So what did you learn?
SCHMITZ: Yeah, well, for more than 20 years, the Australian mining company Rio Tinto has been drilling exploratory wells in western Serbia's Jadar Valley. The company is interested in this region because of how profitable it would be to draw lithium out of it. And this valley is believed to be one of the world's largest deposits of lithium. But the Jadar Valley is an agricultural region. And if it is mined, it would be one of the world's first lithium mines in a populated area. I spoke to the head of Rio Tinto's operations in Serbia, as well as Serbia's minister of mining. And they insist the mining would be done under the strictest of European Union environmental standards.
INSKEEP: OK. Why are residents not persuaded by that?
SCHMITZ: Yeah, people in the Jadar Valley who I visited last week say Rio Tinto's exploratory wells have already contaminated the region. Scientists have backed this up. They've discovered the mine water from these exploratory wells contain dangerous levels of boron that have killed crops near the wells. They've also found elevated levels of boron, arsenic and lithium in nearby rivers due to these wells. And they've published their findings in the journal Nature. Local resident Marijana Petkovic told me these findings mean that she and hundreds of others who live in this valley are refusing to sell their land to Rio Tinto.
MARIJANA PETKOVIC: (Non-English language spoken).
SCHMITZ: And, Steve, she's saying here as more people understand how dangerous this mine is, it'll be clear that it cannot be built. She says even if the military came in with tanks, she says they would refuse to leave their homes. But, Steve, when I drove through the region, it is clear that Rio Tinto has already bought up many homes, land. They're in the process of tearing dozens of homes down, but those homes only represent a fraction of the land that they'll need to successfully mine this valley for lithium.
INSKEEP: Rob, I'm thinking about the climate effects of electric cars and also thinking about the geopolitics. How important is this particular mine to Europe and to the planet, so to speak?
SCHMITZ: It could be very big for Europe, and this would meet 90% of Europe's lithium needs.
INSKEEP: Wow.
SCHMITZ: And it would mean Europe could stop depending on China for those needs. China controls most of the world's lithium-ion battery supply chain. It's home to 80% of the world's lithium refining. And this mine would drastically change that, allowing European and American carmakers to become more independent of China. And that's why the rest of Europe and the U.S. is closely watching this battle.
INSKEEP: One of the reasons I really appreciate having you on this beat, Rob Schmitz - I want people to know if they don't recall - you covered China for years. Now you're in Europe, and you're covering this story that really touches both places, both continents, so to speak. Thanks so much.
SCHMITZ: Thanks, Steve.
INSKEEP: NPR's Rob Schmitz. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
