Residents of Serbia's lithium-rich region pledge to block EU-backed mining

Zlatko Kokanovic does not want a lithium mine in his backyard and he will do anything he can to stop it from opening.

All of us here, we are ready to lose our lives," the 48-year farmer told The Associated Press. "They can shoot. That is the only way they can open the mine.

At stake is a lush farming valley in western Serbia that holds one of Europe's richest deposits of lithium, a precious metal that is used to make batteries for electric cars and is crucial for the global transition to green energy.

Whether there should be a mine in the valley or not has become one of the most contentious issues in the Balkan nation, triggering protests by thousands of people in a challenge to the populist President Aleksandar Vucic.

While the government insists the mine is an opportunity for economic development, critics say it would inflict irreparable pollution on the Jadar valley, along with underground water reserves, farm land and two small rivers that run through the valley.

Thousands are