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Tens of thousands of environmental and opposition activists protested in Belgrade to demand a halt to Rio Tinto Group’s $2.4 billion plan to open Europe’s biggest lithium mine in Serbia.

Demonstrators marched through the capital chanting “You will not dig” and “Treason, treason,” the latest sign of unrest against a project backed by President Aleksandar Vucic. The crowd swelled to about 40,000 by Saturday evening, according to Archive of Public Gatherings, a private group that tracks protests.

The troubles highlight the challenges to building new mines in Europe, even as governments try to secure supplies of minerals such as lithium that are crucial for the energy transition. For the world’s second-largest miner, the Serbian mine has become a flagship development projects as it looks to dilute its dependence on iron ore.

The project was halted in 2022 to defuse protests by environmental activists concerned that mining and processing lithium, a metal vital for battery production, would cause pollution. Serbia’s top court lifted the ban in July.

Saturday’s rally followed more than a dozen smaller protests across Serbia.

Vucic’s administration has touted the project as a boost to the economy. Finance Minister Sinisa Mali has said that lithium mining, if complemented by local production of batteries and electric vehicles, could add as much as €12 billion ($13 billion) annually to Serbia’s economic output.

Last month, Serbian and EU officials signed an agreement on providing supplies of critical raw materials across the bloc, with a focus on lithium. Mercedes Benz AG chief executive officer Ola Kaellenius and Stellantis NV representatives also signed a letter of intent to invest in developing EV battery outputs.

The activists dismiss assurances from the government that the mine would adhere to strict environmental standards.

(By Misha Savic and Jan Bratanic)