In 2004, a new lithium-rich mineral, ’jadarite’, was discovered in Serbia. In 2020, the government of Serbia and mining giant Rio Tinto announced a plan to extract lithium, which sparked massive environmental protests across the country. In this paper, we study perceptions of local communities towards Jadar mineral extraction project, which is planned in the zone of the cultural landscape ‘Trˇ si´ c Tronoˇ sa’. We employed a household-level face-to-face survey, conceptually following the sustainable livelihood approach. Results shows that local communities anticipate negative changes in environmental quality, lifestyle, and activities such as agriculture and tourism, which are seen as vital for future development compatible with the cultural landscape conservation goals. Local communities perceive a bias towards private companies by the government authorities, driven by economic interests that, as seen by locals, may also be influenced by inter national political pressures. Other factors, such as lack of participatory approaches and non-transparent communication were also negatively perceived. We argue that mineral extraction planning in high biodiver sity and cultural heritage areas is sensitive because local communities are strongly tied through historical ac tivities and traditions to the landscape and are not willing to trade off their environment for the economic benefits that the mineral industry could bring.