International Firm Sues EC for Giving Portugal's Savannah Lithium Mine "Strategic" Status

The Iberian wolf, endangered in Portugal, is protected by national and international laws.

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An international environmental law firm has joined the fight against the open-pit lithium mine project of Savannah Resources, which would destroy the country’s U.N. Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System in the Barroso region of Vila Real District.

The prominent law organization, ClientEarth, and the local Unidos em Defesa de Covas do Barroso Association, which has been in the struggle for eight years, have sued the European Commission for granting "strategic project" status, under the Critical Raw Materials Regulation, to the Savannah lithium mine.

Strategic projects "could benefit from coordinated support from the commission, member states and financial institutions as well as "simplified licensing provisions", according to the European Commission.

The lawsuit argued that the commission "ignored clear gaps in the assessment of environmental impacts, including impacts on protected species and the safety of the infrastructure planned for the storage of tailings".

It seeks the annulment of the European Commission special status and a clarification of the commission's obligations under the Critical Raw Materials Regulation. It was filed on February 5 in the Court of Justice of the European Union.

ClientEarth warned of the setting of a dangerous precedent:

"We are going to court because the Commission's decision undermines fundamental EU legal principles. Classifying a project as 'strategic' and in the public interest while turning a blind eye to well-documented risks to water, ecosystems, human health and local livelihoods is simply unacceptable," according to Jornal de Negócios (February 5).

"The energy transition must be based on law, science and justice -- not on political shortcuts which turn rural regions into sacrifice zones."

ClientEarth joined the fight in June 2025 when it filed a complaint against the European Commission with Unidos em Defesa de Covas do Barroso Association and MiningWatch Portugal, an independent monitoring network designed to support local communities, requesting that the European Commission reconsider its "strategic project" classification.

However, in November 2025, the European Commission refused, arguing that its role is only "to identify obvious flaws in project applications" and that it would only refuse the status "if it were manifestly clear that the project would not be implemented sustainably".

Who Is ClientEarth

James Thornton founded the nonprofit environmental law firm, ClientEarth, in 2007, after setting up a citizens' enforcement project focused on the Clean Water Act, in the United States, when the Ronald Reagan administration dropped its own enforcement. Thornton brought more than 80 cases to federal courts and won them all, according to the Smith School of Enterprise & Environment, University of Oxford, where he is a visiting professor.

With offices in London, Brussels, Berlin, Beijing, Madrid, Tokyo, Warsaw and Los Angeles as well as a staff of more than 300, ClientEarth uses law to address climate change, nature loss, human health and governance.

ClientEarth has stopped the building of some coal plants throughout Europe, and it has enforced clean-air laws in more than than 20 countries.

At ClientEarth, lawyer Ilze Tralmaka is a law and policy advisor on environmental democracy. Her work focuses on ensuring access to information, public participation and justice in environmental matters, according to the law firm's website.

Ilze Tralmaka is representing the plaintiffs in this case.

Mining Waste

The attorney said that there are well-defined criteria for a project to be considered strategic and that the Savannah mine project fails in two of them: its technical feasibility with regard to the planned facility for receiving waste and its potential deleterious effect on the protected Iberian wolf, reported Público (February 5).

Ilze Tralmaka said that infrastructure for tailings, or mining waste, "is not adequately designed for its purpose", according to independent experts. This weakness becomes critical "in an extremely humid region, where intense rainfall can saturate the mining waste and lead to the facility collapsing".

"If the (tailings) facility collapses, all that mining waste will flow down the hill to the Covas River."

Three tailings facilities did collapse in Indonesia in 2025, highlighting that this is "historically one of the most dangerous aspects of the mining sector", she said.

At this time, Portugal has been in the throes of consecutive and destructive storms, such as Kristin, Leonardo and Marta, for weeks, exposing vulnerabilities on the ground. The lawyer said:

"If an accident coincided with extreme rainfall, the pollution could even reach the Atlantic Ocean."

Infrastructure must be designed with the future in mind, including climate change scenarios which encompass more intense and frequent extreme weather events. She said.

"Mines have an end date. Waste facilities don't. They stay there."

Iberian Wolves

These safety risks are compounded by the project's proximity to two Natura 2000 network areas with potential impacts on fauna such as the protected and endangered Iberian wolf, said Ilze Tralmaka.

Ecological Systems Submitted by Savannah in 2023

In a separate document, Ecological Systems, submitted to the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) by Savannah on March 22, 2023 as part of its revised Environmental Impact Assessment, the researchers studied the proposed concession area, the accesses (to which it added a 20-meter buffer), the water lines (Couto stream, Covas River, and specific areas of the Beça River) in the municipalities of Boticas and Ribeira de Pena.

The species are categorized on a scale that consists of Extinct; Extinct in the wild; Critically endangered; Endangered; Vulnerable; Near threatened; Least concern; Data deficient, and Not evaluated.

There were 35 fauna species and 22 flora of conservation concern.

Nine are mammals. The gray wolf is an endangered species. A critically endangered mammal species is the Mediterranean horseshoe bat.

Of birds, 15 species have an unfavorable conservation status, including the endangered Montagu's harrier ((Circus pygargus).

Of fish, one is endangered and one is vulnerable.

Of bivalves, two are endangered.

Of amphibians, two are vulnerable.

Of reptiles, one is endangered, and two are vulnerable.

Of insects, two are vulnerable.

Of flora, 22 species were of greatest interest for conservation.

Veronica micrantha is native only in Portugal and is endangered and protected. Some of the other species are cork oak; common holly; heath-spotted orchid and tongue-orchid.

The Lawsuit Filed in 2026

Ilze Tralmaka pointed out that in the aspect of biodiversity conservation, the assessment does not comply with European law, reported Público.

"There is mention of impacts on water and protected species, but the project did not follow all the procedures required by European law. Basically, assessments are lacking."

Savannah Resources

The Portuguese Environment Agency approved Savannah's open-pit lithium mine project on May 31, 2023.

Savannah Lithium is a subsidiary of Savannah Resources, which is listed on the Alternate Investment Market (AIM) in the London Stock Exchange’s international market for smaller firms, reported Mining.com (May 13, 2021).

In Savannah’s Environmental Impact Assessment of 2020, which was revised in 2021, the firm proposed an expansion of the concession of 542 to 593 hectares. The project would last an estimated 16 years, including construction and decommissioning.

After completing consideration of the company’s Environmental Impact Assessment in July 2022, the environmental agency gave Savannah six months of working days, or until March 2023, to re-submit a proposal “to further optimize certain aspects of the project and associated environmental, ecological and socio-economic considerations, reported Observador (July 6, 2022).

“Aspects under consideration include adjustments to infrastructure, such as access roads and waste storage areas but also better assessing the impact of the mine on local businesses, the availability of resources and Savannah’s technical expertise, as well as the intention to deepen the project with local communities and the municipality.”

Strategic Projects Singled Out for First Time

In April 2025, for the first time, the European Commission adopted a list of strategic projects to boost domestic strategic raw materials capabilities: 47 projects of which four are in Portugal -- three for lithium and one for copper -- all of which will benefit from "simplified licensing provisions", according to the EC (March 25, 2025).

The projects in Portugal were listed as Barroso lithium extraction by Savannah Lithium in Boticas, Vila Real District; Lift One processing by Lifthium Energy, S.A. in Estarreja, in Aveiro District; Neves Corvo -- 3rd Silo Lombador, Semblana, integrated extraction and processing of copper by SOMINCOR based in Castro Verde, in the Alentejo region, and the Romano Mine extraction of lithium by Lusorecursos Portugal Lithium S.A., in Montalegre, Vila Real District.

"Europe currently depends on third countries for many of the raw materials it needs most," said Stéphane Séjourné, executive vice-president of the European Commission, responsible for prosperity and industrial strategy. " We must increase our own production, diversify our external supply and create reserves. Today, we identified 47 new strategic projects that will help us secure our own internal supply of raw materials. This is a historic moment for European sovereignty as an industrial power."

"These projects could benefit from coordinated support from the commission, member states and financial institutions to become operational. . . . They will also benefit from simplified licensing provisions. . . . In accordance with the Critical Raw Materials Regulation, the licensing procedure will not exceed 27 months for extraction projects and 15 months for other projects. Currently, licensing processes can last between five and 10 years."

The Critical Raw Materials Act, under which "strategic projects" were selected, was adopted by the European Commission on March 16, 2023. It established a framework for ensuring a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) (October 28, 2024).

The European Union’s share of the global production of most critical raw materials is lower than 7 percent, according to The Future of European Competitiveness (September 2024)

by Mario Draghi, the economist who headed the European Central Bank (2011-2019).

The Critical Raw Materials Act takes steps in the right direction, but greater efforts are needed in this area, wrote Draghi. Opportunities lie in the domestic production of critical raw materials, recycling and the EU’s excellence throughout the mining and processing value chain.

Portugal OKs Grant of 110 Million Euros

In the meantime, Portugal approved the allocation of up to 110 million euros to Savannah's Lithium project, according to a statement from Savannah released by the London Stock Exchange on January 21.

This non-refundable grant is "supported by national funds under the European Commission's Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework".

Savannah was one of the six recipient companies invited to part of the public signing of the investments contracted with AICEP (Portuguese Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade).

Of the six companies, four represent investments within the lithium battery value chain: Lifthium, Topsoe Battery, China Aviation Lithium Battery Technology (CALB) and Savannah. Topsoe Battery Materials is a Danish company, which plans to invest 109.5 million in its installation of a plant at Sines producing cathodic active materials for electric batteries. It will receive support from the Portuguese State of 38.3 million, reported SAPO (January 20).

Through the award, Savannah can receive up to a maximum total value of 109.67 million euros divided into two parts:

1. An amount of up to 82.25 million euros, equivalent to 75 percent of the total, granted as consideration for the execution of the operation (CAPEX); and

2. An amount of up to 27.42 million euros, equivalent to 25 percent of the total, awarded as a contractual performance bonus sometime between 2031 and 2042.

The Savannah press release said that "shareholders should note that the timing and quantum of Grant receipts are contingent on meeting all contractual conditions. Should Savannah or the Portuguese State not comply with the conditions precedent before the end of the year, the contract would be void".

The Author

I live in the foothills of the Serra da Estrela which, until February 2022, also had been considered for lithium exploration. I oppose lithium mining in Portugal.