In Serbian village, women fight to escape encroaching mine

A destroyed house is seen near an open-pit copper mine, run by a subsidiary of China’s Zijin Mining, near to the village of Krivelj, Serbia, April 4, 2024. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

By Ivana Sekularac and Marko Djurica

Aleksa Radonic, 80, who is a retired teacher, covers his mouth with his scarf in the village of Krivelj, April 4, 2024. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

KRIVELJ, Serbia (Reuters) – Before dawn, 78-year-old Vukosava Radivojevic prepared breakfast for her husband then walked into her village in eastern Serbia to guard a barricade stopping trucks entering an open-pit copper mine that residents say is contaminating local land and water.

Marija Bufanovic, 53, who is a housewife, checks her phone at the blockade in the village of Krivelj, Serbia, April 2, 2024. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

Radivojevic is one of two dozen women who since January took shifts day and night on a small bridge in Krivelj to protest against the mine, run by a subsidiary of China’s Zijin Mining, that dominates the surrounding countryside and encroaches on their homes.

An employee stands in front of the entrance to a mill facility of a copper mine, run by a subsidiary of China’s Zijin Mining, near the village of Krivelj, Serbia, April 5, 2024.REUTERS/Marko Djurica

While their husbands work, the women are fighting to persuade the company to relocate their village away from what they describe as the incessant din, shaking and pollution.

Employees walk out of Serbia Zijin Copper DOO in the mining town of Bor, Serbia, April 5, 2024. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

Zijin has already relocated many of the villagers. But the majority of those who remain are Vlachs – Orthodox Christians who have preserved their own language and customs through centuries. They want to move as one.

A destroyed house is seen near an open-pit copper mine, run by a subsidiary of China’s Zijin Mining, near to the village of Krivelj, Serbia, April 4, 2024. Z REUTERS/Marko Djurica

“We are forced to block the road, because we are poisoned, everything is polluted, we can’t grow vegetables anymore,” Radivojevic said this month as she stood at the blockade.

A dog stands in front of an old cemetery and tailings, waste materials left over after a mineral is extracted from ore, at the Zmajevo settlement near the village of Krivelj, Serbia, April 3, 2024. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

“We just want to be safe, we earned that right.”

A child plays on a seesaw, seen from a school gym, in the village of Krivelj, Serbia, March 30, 2024. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

Zijin’s subsidiary, Serbia Zijin Copper, acknowledged the problems, which it said it inherited from a local company when it took over operations in 2018.

Trucks work at an open-pit copper mine, run by a subsidiary of China’s Zijin Mining, near the village of Krivelj, Serbia, April 3, 2024.REUTERS/Marko Djurica

According to a study commissioned by the company and published in December, Krivelj’s small river is polluted with heavy metals. Increased quantities of lead, arsenic and cadmium were found in the soil.

A destroyed house stands near an open-pit copper mine, run by a subsidiary of China’s Zijin Mining, near to the village of Krivelj, Serbia, April 4, 2024. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

“The site suffered from severe direct emissions of gases and wastewater, resulting in highly polluted surroundings including air, rivers, and soil,” the company said in a statement to Reuters.

Children play on swings in the village of Krivelj, Serbia, March 30, 2024. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

It said it has invested over $100 million to reduce the environmental impact, including improving wastewater recycling.

A construction site sign is seen on the ground in the village of Krivelj, Serbia, April 3, 2024. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

Zijin stated it is “dedicated to formulating relocation plans with transparency and fairness” and is in contact with all parties involved. A local official said they hoped the move would be done by the end of 2025.

A drone view shows destroyed houses near an open-pit copper mine, run by a subsidiary of China’s Zijin Mining, near to the village of Krivelj, Serbia, April 4, 2024. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

This week, Zijin agreed to stop driving large trucks through the village, community leader Jasna Tomic said, in a sign the women have had some success. Residents temporarily lifted the blockade to allow the company to complete some work.

A worker stands in a mill, which is part of a copper mine, run by a subsidiary of China’s Zijin Mining, near the village of Krivelj, Serbia, April 5, 2024. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

The fight for a satisfactory relocation continues.

A worker drives a vehicle in front of a mill facility of a copper mine, run by a subsidiary of China’s Zijin Mining, near the village of Krivelj, Serbia, April 5, 2024. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

TAKING A STAND

A cross at a cemetery is seen in front of tailings, waste materials left over after a mineral is extracted from ore, at the Zmajevo settlement near the village of Krivelj, Serbia, April 2, 2024. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

Krivelj used to be a lively village surrounded by green hills. Every year it hosted a fair that attracted visitors from neighbouring villages.

People attend a meeting about local ecological issues in a school gym in the village of Krivelj, Serbia, March 30, 2024. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

Then mining began in the 1970s, when Serbia was still part of Yugoslavia. The concentration of sulphur dioxide in the air became so high that it burned holes in women’s nylon tights, locals said.

People attend a meeting about local ecological issues in a school gym in the village of Krivelj, Serbia, March 30, 2024. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

Standards have since improved, but production has quadrupled since Zijin took over, meaning more trucks and more dust, the residents said.

A dog looks out of a window of an apartment in the mining town of Bor, Serbia, April 2, 2024. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

The landscape is scarred by piles of mine waste. Lines of orange trucks snake up the brown valley. The walls of houses are cracked from tremors caused by underground explosions, residents said.

Posters displaying houses for sale are taped up next to an obituary on a tree in the village of Krivelj, Serbia, April 2, 2024. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

The number of school children has dropped by two-thirds, retired teacher Aleksa Radonjic said, as young families have moved away. The fair stopped years ago.

Two girls look out from the doorway of their house at the Zmajevo settlement near the village of Krivelj, Serbia, April 4, 2024.REUTERS/Marko Djurica

The barricade, erected in January, became a symbol of Krivelj’s defiance. Over time it turned into a second home for the women: the inside was heated by a wood stove and had a television. Neighbours stopped by with snacks and coffee. Sometimes dogs kept them company.

The mining town of Bor is seen from a hill near the village of Krivelj, Serbia, April 3, 2024. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

“One day I was standing in the centre of the village, and I kept seeing truck after truck driving through. The small bridge was swinging under their weight,” Radivojevic said.

Two women wait at a bus stop, where obituaries are taped up behind them, in the village of Krivelj, Serbia, April 3, 2024. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

“And then I told my granddaughter, something needs to be done.”

Debica Kostandinovic, 58, who is a housewife, sits at a road blockade in the village of Krivelj, Serbia, April 3, 2024. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

Housewife Marija Bufanovic, 53, was among the first to build the barricade.

Framed pictures of soldiers returned from World War I and of relatives hang on the wall of an old house owned by Tomic family in the village of Krivelj, Serbia, April 4, 2024. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

“There is no life here,” she said. “We want to move together.”

A view of the mining town of Bor, Serbia, April 4, 2024. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

Meanwhile, villagers discuss where they may end up. The company has proposed an area near another Zijin mine, said community leader Tomic.

Decorations are seen on the window of a copper mine dispatch centre, run by a subsidiary of China’s Zijin Mining, near the village of Krivelj, Serbia, April 5, 2024. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

“We want that new village to be called Krivelj as well. Of course there will be no river there, but we want to move the church, the library and the school.”

An employee looks out from a terrace of a copper mine dispatch centre, run by a subsidiary of China’s Zijin Mining, near the village of Krivelj, Serbia, April 5, 2024. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

(Reporting by Ivana Sekularac; Editing by Edward McAllister, Alexandra Hudson)

A worker walks down the stairs inside the mill facility of a copper mine, run by a subsidiary of China’s Zijin Mining, near the village of Krivelj, Serbia, April 5, 2024. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

Children play in front of tailings, waste materials left after a mineral is extracted from ore, at the Zmajevo settlement near the village of Krivelj, Serbia, April 4, 2024. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

A drone view shows a cemetery in front of an open-pit copper mine, run by a subsidiary of China’s Zijin Mining, near the village of Krivelj, Serbia, April 5, 2024. REUTERS/Marko Djurica