Green light for the first lithium mine in Portugal, close to Galicia

The Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) has just given the green light to exploitation The first lithium mine in Portugal and one of the largest in Europe with the issuance of a favorable environmental impact statement (DIA). The farm, located in Barroso, several 30 kilometers from Ourense, will occupy an area of ​​593 hectares, and will be managed by the British Savannah Resources. This is not the first time the company has tried this. In 2020, it already did, but on that occasion it was rejected by the Portuguese authorities. Now, after reshaping the project, the path is clear. There is still a long way to go before starting the activity, which the company expects to complete within a year, with the idea of ​​starting production in 2026.

First you will have to face the opposition of environmentalists. “We are not against the exploitation of lithium in Portugal, but only if it is carried out in appropriate places, which is not the case,” Nuno Forner of the environmental association Zero told La Voz.

In its report, the APA points out “the potential [de la explotación] generate an economic opportunity in the territories that contain mineral deposits, as well as the romover of the associated industrial cluster”. Forner disagrees. It is an illusion to say that a mine that will operate for a maximum of 17 years will encourage regional development and settle its inhabitants, he says.

It will have to meet a number of environmental, economic and cultural requirements. Among other things, they will not be able to use water from the neighboring Covas river.