Bogatic and Sabac find themselves on map of lithium and boron miners! – Edelweiss Mineral Exploration planning explorations on about 200 km2 of farming properties

Among the events that have captured the attention of the domestic and international public in recent months, following the collapse of the canopy in Novi Sad, hardly anything could be heard in the media about lithium mining in Jadar, but meanwhile, a new topic has been developing in the center of the fertile Macva all this time – the mining of lithium in villages on the territory of Bogatic and Sabac. And on that occasion, a large Protest for the Preservation of Macva has already been announced for February 7 in Bogatic.

To clarify, on January 23, the Department for Urban Planning, Municipal Housing, Building Land and Infrastructure - Development of Planning Documents of the Municipality of Bogatic announced a call for public inspection of the draft Spatial Plan of the Municipality of Bogatic for the period 2025-2035 and the Report on the Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment of the Spatial Plan of the Municipality of Bogatic 2025-2035.

What these documents state opens the door for lithium mining in this region:

Consent to exploration

– In accordance with the Conditions of Significance for the Development of the Spatial Plan of the Municipality of Bogatic submitted by the Ministry of Mining and Energy of the Republic of Serbia (no. 000484618/2023 dated March 20, 2024), the Department for Geology and Mining has approved: Application for lithium and boron research by the company Edelweiss Mineral Exploration doo Belgrade, at the Petlovaca location, by decision no. 310-02-01027/2021-02. The exploration field is partly located on the territory of the municipality of Bogatic, the border is represented by the graphic attachment to the plan and is defined by the coordinates of the focal points in the state coordinate system.

As Dejan Milosavljevic, head of the citizens’ group Pobeda za Macvu (Victory for Macva), told eKapija, this is an exploration field that, as stated, covers an area of about 200 square kilometers, with about 40 percent of the area belonging to the municipality of Bogatic, and about 60 percent to the City of Sabac. In the territory of the Bogatic municipality, according to him, excavations are planned in Badovinci, Salas Crnobarski, Klenje, Dublje and Ocaga.

– Just a few days before the public inspection of the draft Spatial Plan was announced, I received a map of the planned exploration field by chance, and I confirmed this information when I looked at the draft plan at the public inspection, which anyone can see on the website of the municipality – says Milosavljevic.

Given that the public inspection lasts until February 25, this group of citizens has already hired a team of experts and lawyers and is preparing suggestions that request the exclusion of these lithium and boron explorations from the spatial plan of Bogatic.

Justice for Macva: People will not allow it

– The people are against lithium mining and they will certainly not allow it – Milosavljevic pointed out for eKapija.

Olivera Kikanovic, MSc in environmental protection and one of the members of the Mame Sapca (Mothers of Sabac) association, told eKapija that this association had already prepared comments on this draft Spatial Plan.

– Lithium is not the future. It spells the end for our fields, rivers, forests and health. This is a fight for our right to clean nature and a dignified life. While politicians are playing their games, we must not remain silent observers – she pointed out, noting that several brave women from Sabac had already appealed for help with key institutions.

They addressed the rectors of the universities in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Kragujevac and Nis, the deans of the faculties of technology in Belgrade and Leskovac, the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Belgrade, the faculties of civil engineering and architecture in Belgrade and Nis, the faculties of chemistry in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Nis and Kragujevac, the Faculty of Biology, the Vinca Institute, the Urban Planning Institute and the Institute for Nature Protection of Serbia. They also addressed individual university professors, prominent fighters against lithium mining, asking for their help and support.

Complaints of association from Sabac

They have already assembled complaints highlighting primarily the legal inconsistencies having to do with exploration rights. According to our interviewee, in the draft Spatial Plan, key information regarding the legality of conducting exploration works is omitted, which calls into question the validity of the entire plan.

– A lack of a decision on the extension of exploration rights: According to the Law on Mining and Geological Exploration (Articles 38 and 40), exploration rights are issued for a period of up to three years, with the possibility of extension up to a total of seven years. There is no evidence in the documentation that the exploration right was extended beyond the end of 2024, which calls into question the legal basis for planning mining activities. Also, there is a lack of decisions on the transfer of exploration rights. The transfer of exploration rights between the companies Edelweiss, Volt and Asena Investment requires the approval of the Ministry of Mining and Energy, in accordance with Article 40 of the Law on Mining and Geological Exploration. There is no evidence in the Draft that this transfer was carried out in accordance with the law, which raises doubts about the legality of these activities – says Olivera Kikanovic.

No environmental impact assessment

She notes that the draft Spatial Plan does not contain an adequate assessment of the impact of mining activities on the environment, which violates the provisions of the Law on Environmental Protection.

– On pages 16, 21, 23, 41, 98 and 127, an analysis of the consequences on agricultural land, groundwater and the ecosystem is omitted. Mining activities can directly threaten the health of the local population and the economic development of the municipality, which is based on agriculture and preserved natural resources. We request that the Spatial Plan be supplemented with a detailed assessment of the impact of exploration and mining activities on the environment and the local community. Without such an assessment, the plan cannot be legally adopted – this is part of the objections prepared by this association.

Based on all these objections, the Mame Sapca association demands the deletion of all exploration areas related to lithium and other minerals from the Spatial Plan of the Municipality of Bogatic for the period 2025-2035.

– The document has serious legal and procedural flaws, and the lack of an environmental impact assessment threatens the future of Macva and its inhabitants – they conclude.

Therefore, both Pobeda za Macvu and Mame Sapca citizens’ groups, as well as Eko straza Sapca (Eco Guard of Sabac), on their Facebook page, invite citizens to attend in large numbers on February 7.

– This is not just a fight for Macva, this is a fight for all of Serbia. Come, submit objections, let’s show that we are a nation that does not sell its land! “Macva is not for sale!” – Eko straza Sapca stated on its page.

D. Stanimirovic-Gavrilov

Ministarstvo energetike i rudarstva RS

Opština Bogatić

Grad Šabac

EDELWEISS MINERAL EXPLORATION DOO

Udruženje građana Mame Šapca

Ministry of Mining and Energy of the Republic of Serbia

Municipality of Bogatić

City of Šabac

Edelweiss Mineral Exploration

citizens group Pobeda za Mačvu

Mame Šapca

Eko straža Šabac

Dejan Milosavljević

Olivera Kikanović

lithium mining

lithium and boron

explorations

Bogatić exploration areas

public inspection

spatial plan

environmental impact assessment

protest against lithium mining in Mačva

lithium

boron