Portuguese lithium mine passes major environmental hurdle

A proposed lithium mine in Portugal has passed a key environmental hurdle to boost European efforts to secure supplies of a key material for electric vehicle batteries.

London-listed Savannah Resources said on Wednesday that the Portuguese regulator has issued a positive environmental impact declaration for its Barroso lithium mine, which aims to produce enough lithium for 500,000 electric cars a year.

Lithium demand in Europe is predicted to grow fourfold to account for a quarter of global demand by 2030, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, but the region currently produces less than 1 percent of the world’s supply.

Obtaining permits has been a major issue holding Europe back from developing a battery raw material supply chain. The Savannah project was seen as a test of whether the region could overcome its recent history of opposition to mining.

“This is an important step not only in the development of the project but also in the development of the lithium raw materials industry in Portugal,” said Dale Ferguson, CEO of Savannah.

United in Defense of Covas do Barroso, a local community group that opposes the project, said it “condemns” the decision and its approval given the potentially “devastating” ecological, environmental and socio-economic impacts”. was astonished”.

Shares of Savannah rose 22 percent on Wednesday following the decision.

The company first submitted its Environmental Impact Assessment three years ago. The regulator’s decision allows it to proceed with the economic study and take final licensing steps next year. It is targeting to go into first production before mid-2026.

The Barroso mine aims to produce 100,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate from the lithium-rich rock, which will be upgraded to battery-grade lithium at a refinery that Savannah is expected to locate in Portugal.

The EU Critical Raw Materials Act, which was unveiled in March, aims to ease permitting procedures for mining companies and reduce the sector’s dependence on China and other countries for key EV and green energy minerals such as lithium, cobalt and graphite. set out the objective of the European Commission for ,

China controls 56 percent of lithium processing, with much of the rest in Chile.

Europe is trying to change this through local projects, including two refinery developments led by Norwegian battery company Northvolt and Portuguese energy company Galp, and another involving Bondalti, Portugal’s largest chemicals company.

Last year, after months of widespread protests, the Serbian government revoked Rio Tinto’s license for lithium mining at its $2.4bn Zadar mine in Serbia – the largest planned lithium mine in Europe.

Separately on Wednesday, lithium start-up Vulcan announced it would supply one of Stellentis’ French carmaking plants with geothermal energy, hoping to extract lithium in the process. Vulcan’s technology involves pumping lithium to the surface through geothermal wells.

Additional reporting by Patricia Nilsson

A proposed lithium mine in Portugal has passed a key environmental hurdle to boost European efforts to secure supplies of a key material for electric vehicle batteries.

London-listed Savannah Resources said on Wednesday that the Portuguese regulator has issued a positive environmental impact declaration for its Barroso lithium mine, which aims to produce enough lithium for 500,000 electric cars a year.

Lithium demand in Europe is predicted to grow fourfold to account for a quarter of global demand by 2030, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, but the region currently produces less than 1 percent of the world’s supply.

Obtaining permits has been a major issue holding Europe back from developing a battery raw material supply chain. The Savannah project was seen as a test of whether the region could overcome its recent history of opposition to mining.

“This is an important step not only in the development of the project but also in the development of the lithium raw materials industry in Portugal,” said Dale Ferguson, CEO of Savannah.

United in Defense of Covas do Barroso, a local community group that opposes the project, said it “condemns” the decision and its approval given the potentially “devastating” ecological, environmental and socio-economic impacts”. was astonished”.

Shares of Savannah rose 22 percent on Wednesday following the decision.

The company first submitted its Environmental Impact Assessment three years ago. The regulator’s decision allows it to proceed with the economic study and take final licensing steps next year. It is targeting to go into first production before mid-2026.

The Barroso mine aims to produce 100,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate from the lithium-rich rock, which will be upgraded to battery-grade lithium at a refinery that Savannah is expected to locate in Portugal.

The EU Critical Raw Materials Act, which was unveiled in March, aims to ease permitting procedures for mining companies and reduce the sector’s dependence on China and other countries for key EV and green energy minerals such as lithium, cobalt and graphite. set out the objective of the European Commission for ,

China controls 56 percent of lithium processing, with much of the rest in Chile.

Europe is trying to change this through local projects, including two refinery developments led by Norwegian battery company Northvolt and Portuguese energy company Galp, and another involving Bondalti, Portugal’s largest chemicals company.

Last year, after months of widespread protests, the Serbian government revoked Rio Tinto’s license for lithium mining at its $2.4bn Zadar mine in Serbia – the largest planned lithium mine in Europe.

Separately on Wednesday, lithium start-up Vulcan announced it would supply one of Stellentis’ French carmaking plants with geothermal energy, hoping to extract lithium in the process. Vulcan’s technology involves pumping lithium to the surface through geothermal wells.

Additional reporting by Patricia Nilsson