Environmental green light for Portugal’s first lithium mine

The Portuguese Environmental Protection Agency (APA) has indicated that a British company Savannah Resources’ lithium mining project near Boticas in a rural area in northeastern Portugal has been awarded a “favorable Environmental Impact Statement, with several conditions attached”. press release. The Barroso mine project has been “significantly modified from the initial proposal,” the agency said, in order to “protect its environmental aspects (relating to the protection of waterways, biodiversity or waste management, among others).” For her part, Savannah welcomed the decision, confirming in a statement Journalist said it was the “first time” that the APA had issued a positive statement on the environmental impact of the lithium mine in Portugal.

An “important step” has been taken for what could become the largest lithium mine in Western Europe. “This important decision now makes it possible to take the next step in the procedure for obtaining an environmental license,” the company added. In addition to the Savannah project in Boticas and the project of the Portuguese company Lusoricursos in the neighboring municipality of Montalegre, which is less developed. The Portuguese government launched an international tender a year ago for lithium exploration in six regions of the country. Portugal is already the main European producer of lithium, but at the moment, its entire production is used for ceramics and glassware. Cobalt or nickel, lithium is one of the base metals in the manufacture of electric batteries that will replace the heat engines of cars that contribute to global warming. In order to reduce its dependence on imports, with regard to China in particular, the European Union is preparing to open mines and refineries to process it.