The company “EuroLithium” no longer exists in Serbia
One would think that this Canadian company left our country after numerous protests by citizens. However, that is not the point. “EuroLithium” just changed its name and is now called “Palkovsky doo” according to the surname of the owner.
The owners, Canadians of Czech origin, father and son Petr and Alexaner Palkovsky apparently thought that changing the name of the company and a name that “sounds Slavic” and does not contain the “notorious” term – “lithium” will be enough to fool the locals.
To remind you, the protest “Cleaning our yard” was organized on November 12 last year in Valjevo, where the gathered threw eggs at the premises of the EuroLithium company and asked that company to leave Valjevo and to stop the exploitation of lithium and boron. The representative of the Valjevo resistance movement, Branko Ivković, said that they gave the company Euro Lithium Balkan a deadline to leave the city by November 1, which the company did not do.
“They obviously have no intention of fulfilling our request, they only formally said that they will not mine lithium, but will work on the research of borate minerals and the geothermal potential of our regions, as they have undeniably already done irreversible damage, we have nothing more to talk about. Since there are no institutions here that would react, it remains for the citizens to self-organize and literally drive them out of our city,” said Ivković at the time.
The company “Euro Lithium” is conducting geological research in the vicinity of Valjevo as part of two projects, and their last request for the extension of the research permit was rejected by the Ministry of Mining and Energy, and the company submitted a new one.
In the period from 2015 to 2022, the Canadian company Euro Lithium Balkan carried out geological research for boron and lithium. Those works were carried out in the research areas of Valjevo-Mionički Basin and Valjevo Sever.
During that period, they drilled about 50 wells in the villages of Popučke, Lukavac, Divci, Šušeoka and Mrčić. This led to the collapse of some wells, which resulted in the mixing of mine water with drinking water. At borehole number 4 in the village of Šušeoka, water spilled onto the surface of the earth and a concentration of boron several thousand times higher than allowed was found there.
In the immediate vicinity is the household of Dragan Tadić, whose well is also contaminated with pine. The use of that water for drinking, as well as for feeding the sheep, led to the death of the lambs on the aforementioned household.
Another critical well is number 5 in the village of Lukavac. It was never closed, because the high-speed Valjevo-Lajkovac road passed over it. About fifty meters from the well is the house of Cvetko Jovanović, whose well is also poisoned with boron and lithium, so the water is unusable, not only for drinking, but it must not be used for technical purposes either.
Thanks to the engagement of environmental activists, in 2022 the High Court in Valjevo passed a temporary measure prohibiting applied geological research for the Valjevo-Mionički basin. For Valjevo North, the Ministry of Mining and Energy rejected the company’s request for an extension of exploration, because the plan was not fulfilled, that is, at least 75 percent of the planned exploration work was not done.
Also, in this basin are the wells of Branko Arbeiter, who grows blueberries and hazelnuts. The analysis of the water from two wells found amounts of boron 17 times higher than allowed.
Therefore, that water is not for drinking, nor for watering plantations. It is important to emphasize that all boreholes were drilled on 2nd and 3rd class agricultural land without converting it into construction land. This means that the company “Euro Lithium Balkan” illegally carried out its activities in the Valjevsko region. According to the available information, they were not held accountable for any reason.
In the interest of the public, the editorial staff of “Diplomacy & Commerce” magazine will continue to follow this case.