Last women in town fight for their community’s survival as copper mine closes in

Chinese mining giant Zijin is Goliath to a band of Serbian villagers who say they will up sticks as one, or not at all, writes Marko Djurica

Stana Jorgovanovic, 79, at a barricade in Krivelj, eastern Serbia. ‘I feel so sorry about our beautiful village, I am not sure I will survive the move,’ she says (Reuters)

The women are nurses, school teachers, students and homemakers. They span three generations. And they are up for a fight.

Nearly two dozen women are at the centre of a battle to relocate their village in eastern Serbia away from a copper mine that they say has polluted their land and water and ruined the surrounding countryside.

Since January, while the men of the village go to work, the women have taken turns guarding a barricade on a bridge in Krivelj to stop trucks from entering the mine, which China’s Zijin Mining operates.

Marija Jankucic, 20: ‘I am hoping for a new village in a peaceful area’ (Reuters)

Milosava Fufanovic: ‘I want a new village of Krivelj. I need a piece of land, a church and a cemetery. If all the people leave the barricade I will be the last standing’ (Reuters)

Zijin’s subsidiary, Serbia Zijin Copper, has acknowledged the problems and agreed to relocate the community.

This week, Zijin agreed to stop driving large trucks through the village. Residents temporarily lifted the blockade to allow the company to complete some work.

While the company has already relocated some villagers, the majority of the remaining population – Vlachs, Orthodox Christians who have preserved their language and customs through centuries – want to move as one.

Zijin has stated it is “dedicated to formulating relocation plans with transparency and fairness” and is in contact with all parties involved.

A destroyed house is seen near an open-pit copper mine (Reuters)

The mining town of Bor (Reuters)

A local official said they hoped the move would be completed by the end of 2025.

“We are defending our village and houses where we were born. I feel so sorry about our beautiful village, I am not sure I will survive the move,” said Stana Jorgovanovic, a 79-year-old homemaker as she stood at the barricade.

Fifteen of the women agreed to have their portraits taken and to share their visions of the future.

Teodora Tomic, 22: ‘We want to show the Zijin company that we still exist. I am hoping for a new village somewhere without any influence from the mine’ (Reuters)

Children play in front of tailings at the Zmajevo settlement (Reuters)

They posed in places where they said they felt safe: on the hills above the village, in their living rooms, classrooms and gardens – or at the barricade itself, one arm held high in defiance.

Some feared the trucks that shipped materials and waste to and from the mine might run over their children.

Others do not grow vegetables any more because authorities said the soil was contaminated. All are determined to make their voices heard.

Vukosava Radivojevic, 78: ‘We are forced to block the road because we are poisoned, everything is polluted, we can't grow vegetables any more. We just want to be safe, we earned that right’ (Reuters)

A worker walks down the stairs inside the mill facility of a copper mine (Reuters)

Zijin said it has invested over $100m (£80m) in environmental protection measures to minimise the impact on Krivelj.

“These concerted efforts have directly contributed to improving the environment of the Krivelj village,” the company said in a statement to Reuters.

Debica Kostandinovic, 58: ‘We have built our house for years, and [with] the money they [Zijin] are offering us for it, we can't buy a single apartment’ (Reuters)

Deana Jovanovic, 40: ‘I expect that the heroines of the village will get what they are fighting for: systematic support from the government and the Zijin company which could provide them life with dignity. I hope they will be able to plan their future together’ (Reuters)

“I want a new village of Krivelj. I need a piece of land, a church and a cemetery,” said Milosava Fufanovic, an elementary school teacher, as she sat on a sofa in her house.

“If all the people leave the barricade, I will be the last standing.”

Reuters