2023-05-31 18:36:00
Environment Agency gives her okay
Huge lithium mine may be built in Portugal
5/31/2023 8:36 p.m
Lithium is becoming increasingly important as a raw material, for example for e-cars, smartphones and tablets. The largest deposit in Europe is said to be in Portugal. The environmental authority has decided that a large mine may now be built in the north of the country.
A huge lithium mine in Portugal has been given the green light by the Environmental Protection Agency. The Barroso project in the north of the country has been granted permission to mine lithium following the original proposal was “significantly modified”, the agency said. The mine might become the largest in Western Europe and give a boost to the electric car industry in Europe.
Portugal probably has the largest lithium deposits on the continent. The light metal has become a sought-following raw material, particularly as a component of batteries for electric cars. The lithium deposits in northern Portugal offer the opportunity to make the European car industry less dependent on exports from third countries.
The Portuguese Environmental Protection Agency has made a “key decision,” said Savannah Resources, which owns the lithium deposits in northeastern Portugal and manages the Barroso project. The project can now move to the next level in the environmental licensing process. This is an important step “for the development of the lithium raw material industry in Portugal,” said Savannah CEO Dale Ferguson.
Resistance group fears environmental destruction
The “white gold” is not undisputed. In early 2022, there was fierce opposition in the Covas do Barroso region, where Savannah plans to mine the lithium. The mine would “destroy agricultural land, divert rivers and leave behind huge mountains of slag,” said Nelson Gomes, leader of a local resistance group, at the time. The Environmental Protection Agency said the company has pledged changes to protect waterways and biodiversity.
So far, lithium has mainly been mined in Australia and South America and processed in China. Chinese companies control more than 40 percent of global production and almost 60 percent of processing capacity.
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