TENS of thousands of protesters rallied on Saturday against lithium mining in Serbia as officials claimed it was part of a plot to topple populist President Aleksandar Vucic and his government.

Mr Vucic said he had been tipped off by Russian intelligence services that “mass unrest and a coup” were being promoted by unspecified Western powers that wish to oust him from power.

Officials and state-controlled media launched a major campaign against the rally, comparing it to the Maidan uprising in Ukraine’s capital Kiev, which led to the toppling of the country’s pro-Russia president Viktor Yanukovych in 2013.

During the protest, the crowd chanted: “There will be no mining,” and: “Treason, treason.”

After it ended, some people marched toward the capital’s two main railway stations, pledging to halt services until their demands that lithium mining be officially banned are met.

Ahead of the demonstration, organisers said it would be a peaceful ecological protest.

“Our rally today is ecological and has no political ambitions, but the government has accused us of seeking to stage a coup,” actor Svetlana Bojkovic said. “We came here today to raise our voice against something that is beyond politics.” 

The demonstration came after weeks of protests throughout Serbia against a government plan to allow lithium mining in a lush farming valley in the west of the country.

This plan had been scrapped in 2022 after large demonstrations were held that included the blocking of key bridges and roads. But it was revived last month and received a boost in a tentative deal on “critical raw materials” signed by Mr Vucic’s government with the European Union.

The Balkan nation is formally seeking EU membership while maintaining very close ties with both Russia and China. The EU memorandum on the mining of lithium and other key materials needed for green transition would bring Serbia closer to the bloc and would reduce Europe’s lithium battery and electric car imports from China.

While the government insists that the mine is an opportunity for economic development, critics say it would inflict irreparable pollution on the Jadar valley, along with its crucial underground water reserves and farming land.

Valley residents are strongly opposed to the mine, which would be operated by the transnational Rio Tinto mining company. Both the government and the company have pledged the highest environmental standards in the mining process, but opponents have not been convinced.

Tens of thousands have turned out for environment protection rallies held throughout Serbia in the past several weeks, posing a major challenge to Mr Vucic and his increasingly autocratic rule. Opponents want the government to formally outlaw any lithium and boron mining in Serbia.