By Catarina Demony
LISBON (Reuters) – Savannah Resources said on Wednesday it had little control over what it described as the political process which is delaying its extraction plans for what could become western Europe’s largest lithium mine in northern Portugal.
Portugal is already Europe’s biggest lithium producer, but its miners sell almost exclusively to the ceramics industry and are only now preparing to produce the higher-grade lithium that is in demand globally for use in electric cars and electronic devices.
London-based Savannah has said Portugal’s Barroso mine could be at the centre of Europe’s lithium value chain.
Ahead of its annual general meeting, Savannah’s chairman Matthew King said in a statement to investors that moving forward with the project was crucial at a time when Europe is scrambling to reduce its dependence on Russian fossil fuels and speed up its “green transition”.
Savannah submitted its environmental impact assessment (EIA)for an open-pit mine to Portuguese regulator APA in May 2020, receiving a preliminary stamp of approval a year later.
APA then launched a public consultation on the project but it is yet to announce its final decision.
“The finalisation of the EIA is a political process over which Savannah has little control. This time last year, we had expectations that the decision would have been received by now,” King said, adding that January’s snap election had impacted the timing of the assessment as meetings with government officials were postponed.
“We are confident though that the new administration is now in a position to make a decision and remain hopeful of a positive outcome,” he said.
The environment ministry, which oversees APA, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Barroso, a world heritage site for agriculture since 2018, is one of many lithium-rich areas in northern Portugal and Savannah already mines feldspar, quartz and pegmatite there.
Lithium projects in Portugal such as Savannah’s face strong opposition from environmentalists and local communities, who demand stronger regulation and more transparency.
(Reporting by Catarina Demony; Editing by Inti Landauro, Kirsten Donovan)
