Lithium Mining in Portugal: EU Update

The Lusorecursos Portugal Lithium mine could jeopardize the survival of the protected endangered Iberian wolf in the country’s only U.N. Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System, warned Platforma Lobo Ibérico, which highlighted that the mine’s location coincides with the breeding site of a pack.

The study area of Savannah Lithium's revised Environmental Impact Assessment "does not intersect the known territory of any pack, but it is possible to notice that there are several packs in the surroundings. . . . It is considered likely that the species uses the area regularly.” Of the 35 fauna species of conservation concern, nine are mammals.

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One year ago, in The Future of European Competitiveness, Mario Draghi, the economist who headed the European Central Bank (2011-2019), wrote that the European Union is not keeping pace with its competitors in the area of critical raw materials.

The European Union lacks a comprehensive strategy covering all stages of the supply chain, from exploration to recycling. Moreover, there is no EU-wide comprehensive approach to critical raw materials encompassing all of its internal and external tools, according to the former Prime Minister of Italy (2021-2022).

At the One Year After the Draghi Report conference, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, acknowledged the need for significant investment to ensure the European Union's economic competitiveness against the United States and China, but that "many obstacles still remain", reported Expresso (September 16).

Ursula von der Leyen advocated removing the stumbling blocks to harnessing the potential to activities such as artificial intelligence startups, the "strategic Lobito corridor to Africa's copper belt" in Angola and lithium in Portugal.

The President of the European Commission also advocated investing in the EU's critical raw materials "for the sake of economic security" as well as guaranteeing financial support and timely licenses for initiatives such as "lithium processing in Portugal".

The European Union’s share of the global production of most critical raw materials is lower than 7 percent, according to Mario Draghi’s The Future of European Competitiveness.

The focus of this article is on lithium. 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.

Lithium mining is a hot issue in Portugal. The conditional environmental approvals in 2023 of Savannah's Barroso and Lusorecursos' Romano lithium mines in Trás-os-Montes, in northern Portugal, has not cooled the eight years of opposition to the mines because of air pollution, noise, water demand and the destruction of a sustainable rural way of life.

The contested mines are in the region classified as Portugal's only World Agricultural Heritage by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Both those projects are underway, with stops and starts.

Removing Obstacles

Since Draghi's report, 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).

The projects in Portugal are 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.

"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," said Stéphane Séjourné, executive vice-president of the European Commission, responsible for prosperity and industrial strategy.

In June, three non-governmental organizations filed a complaint, challenging the European Commission's decision to grant preferential status to Savannah's Lithium's open-pit mining project, reported Portugal Resident (June 12).

Unidos em Defesa de Covas do Barroso, MiningWatch Portugal and ClientEarth said in a press release:

"This fast-tracking comes despite evidence that the project could threaten local water resources, harm biodiversity and disrupt the traditional, culturally significant farming practices that sustain the community of Covas do Barroso."

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

According to the three non-governmental organizations: "The Commission must officially reply to this internal review request within 16 weeks, a deadline that can be extended up to 22 weeks. If the claimants find that the Commission's reply does not fix the legal violation (that they are alleging), the claimants can sue the Commission in the Court of Justice of the European Union."

Portugal Violated Right to Access of Information

Most recently, the approval process of the open-pit Savannah Lithium project in Vila Real District came under legal scrutiny.

The Aarhus Convention Committee concluded that three Portuguese institutions -- the Portuguese Environmental Agency, the Directorate-General for Energy and Geology and the Northern Regional Coordination and Development Commission -- "deliberately and unfoundedly" withheld information during public participation in the environmental assessment process of the Barroso mine in Boticas, reported Expresso (September 3).

The following day, the Portuguese Environmental Agency assured that it acted "always in compliance with the law", reported Expresso (September 4).

The Aarhaus Convention is the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters. It was adopted on June 25, 1998. Portugal entered the Convention in September 2003.

The Aarhus Convention conclusion was its response to a complaint filed in 2021 by the Montescola Foundation, a Spanish non-governmental organization, according to Expresso (September 3).

Unidos em Defesa de Covas do Barroso and MiningWatch Portugal were observers in the process.

The three organizations consider that the Committee "corroborates that the environmental impact process did not guarantee the right to public participation" and advocate the annulment of the Environmental Impact Statement.

Among other things, the Committee considered that the Portuguese Environmental Agency did not respond to the request for environmental information within the timeframe established by the Convention, that the environmental agency and the Northern Regional Coordination and Development Commission withheld environmental information alleging an unfounded refusal criterion, and that the Directorate-General for Energy and Geology failed to comply with the Convention by forwarding the request to another entity when it was in possession of the requested information.

"This decision is very important because it dispels the notion that our criticisms of the evaluation process are unfounded," said Carla Gomes, of the United Association in Defense of Covas do Barroso, in a statement. "The violation of the right of access to information and public participation is more than enough reason to cancel the DIA (Declaração de Impacte Ambiental) and start the evaluation process from scratch."

On behalf of Montescola, Joam Evans said that he hoped that "the decision will not be swept under the carpet".

"We want concrete actions from the Portuguese State . . . The DIA must be annulled, and we will not rest until we achieve this."

The Covas do Barroso Parish Council initiated legal action in 2023 to annul the Environmental Impact Declaration (DIA).

Lusorecursos Ordered to Return Land

The Vila Real Court ordered the return of land in Rebordelo, which two farmers sold to Lusorecursos, and the removal of machinery and fences by the company, which plans to mine lithium in Montalegre, reported Jornal de Negócios (February 10).

A farming couple, a 68-year-old man and a 64-year-old woman, sold a plot of land in Rebordelo, Montalegre Municipality, to Lusorecursos, property which the board of directors of the Local Community of Baldios claimed to be theirs, denouncing an improper sale.

In the case, which began to be judged in December 2024, the farmer claimed that the land was an inheritance from his parents, that he always had grown corn, potatoes and rye there and that he had never seen anyone from the Local Community of Common Lands claiming ownership.

His wife added that the land was the couple's livelihood and that they had cultivated it from 1977, a year after they got married, until they sold it to Lusorecursos.

However, the Vila Real Court ruled in favor of the Baldios Local Community, declared the deed of justification of purchase and sale ineffective, and declared that the land is the property of the Rebordelo shareholders.

Mario Draghi on Lithium

Mario Draghi’s The Future of European Competitiveness (September 2024) profiled lithium:

“While there are currently almost no active operations in the EU to mine lithium minerals, several lithium projects are in development or in an advanced stage of investigation, with about five to 10 mines projected to open by 2030. Even with the demand for lithium expected to rise due to the growth of the e-mobility market, domestic lithium supply could meet between 50 percent and 100 percent of demand by 2030.” 

Draghi cited Portugal:

“Unlike fossil fuels, the EU has deposits of some critical raw materials (e.g. lithium in Portugal). . . . Currently, however, the EU remains heavily reliant on raw material imports, rather than exploiting domestic resources.”

While a host of newly announced projects indicate that supply is catching up with countries’ clean energy ambitions, an adequate future global supply is far from assured, Draghi wrote, in his paper:

In the fray of acquisition and processing of lithium as well as other critical raw minerals for green energy, which is not always so green, the words of former European Bank president, Mario Draghi, keep echoing:

“An adequate future global supply is far from assured.”

He raises two issues: First, there is not an endless supply of these minerals, which is common sense. Second, what is adequate? It seems that the European Union and other countries accept the status quo as the goal.

China's Belt and Road Initiative (2013)

Critical raw materials are critical for a broad range of goods. These materials are needed to deliver clean energy technologies for the green transition, such as lithium, cobalt and nickel for producing batteries, among other clean energy technologies, advanced technologies for the digital transition, such as gallium for semi-conductors, and defense and space applications, such as titanium and tungsten, according to The Future of European Competitiveness (September 2024), by Mario Draghi.

As an example, one smartphone might contain up to 50 different metals.

Demand for critical minerals experienced strong growth in 2023, according to the International Energy Agency (May 17, 2024). Lithium consumption rose by 30 percent, while demand for nickel, cobalt, graphite and rare earth elements all saw increases ranging from 8 percent to 15 percent. At around $325 billion, today’s aggregate market value of key energy transition minerals aligns broadly with that of iron ore.

If countries fully implement their national energy and climate pledges, demand for critical minerals is set to expand with the acceleration of clean energy technologies. Mineral demand would more than double by 2030 and triple by 2040, reaching nearly 35 million tonnes (Mt) annually.

In 2013, China adopted the Belt and Road initiative, which included active investment in mining assets in Africa, Indonesia and Latin America as well as investment in overseas refining and other industrial facilities, with the aim of securing strategic access to raw materials, according to The Future of European Competitiveness.

As a result, China dominates global critical mineral supply chains. The country is the leading source of numerous critical minerals and accounts for almost 70 percent of the world’s output of rare earth minerals.

Moreover, it holds a quasi-monopoly on the processing and refining of critical minerals.

Regarding refining operations, the market has become even more concentrated over time. For example, China holds half of all planned lithium chemical plants, Indonesia possesses nearly 90 percent of planned nickel refining facilities, and Chinese firms own 15 out of 19 copper and cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Between 2018 and the first half of 2021, Chinese companies invested $4.3 billion to acquire lithium assets, twice the amount invested by companies from the United States, Australia and Canada combined during the same period. China’s overseas investment in metals and mining through the Belt and Road Initiative reached a record high of $10 billion in the first half of 2023 alone. Current plans are set to double the ownership of Chinese companies of overseas mines containing critical minerals.

Recently, China also issued a rare earth regulation to further protect domestic supply, laying out rules on the mining, smelting and trade of critical materials. The regulations say rare earth resources belong to the state, and that the government will oversee the development of the industry around rare earths, according to Mario Draghi’s The Future of European Competitiveness (September 2024).

Chinese companies need Beijing's approval for direct investments overseas, reported Reuters (October 31, 2024).

Lithium-Producing Countries

The top lithium-producing countries in 2024, according to Investing News Network (March 5, 2025), were the following:

1.      Australia         88,000 metric tons;

2.      Chile             49,000 metric tons:

3.      China            41,000 metric tons;

4.      Zimbabwe      22,000 metric tons;

5.      Argentina       18,000 metric tons;

6.      Brazil            10,000 metric tons;

7.      Canada           4,300 metric tons, and

8.      Portugal           380 metric tons.

Most of Portugal's lithium comes from small-scale operations for the glass and ceramics industry.

Global Lithium Deposits

Serbia’s lithium accounts for only 1.3 percent of the world’s total compared to 23.5 percent in Bolivia, 21 percent in Argentina and 3 percent in Germany, reported the U.S. Geological Survey, according to Le Monde diplomatique.

The U.S. Geological Survey, created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1879, is the science arm of the U.S. Department of the Interior. It produced a report on lithium in January 2022, which placed Portugal in 19th place worldwide for lithium resources. It said that “owing to continuing exploration, identified lithium resources have increased substantially worldwide and total about 89 million tons.”

The U.S. Geological Survey identified the distribution of lithium resources as follows:

1.      Bolivia                       21 million tons;

2.      Argentina                   19 million tons;

3.      Chile                          9.8 million tons;

4.      United States              9.1 million tons;

5.      Australia                     7.3 million tons;

6.      China                         5.1 million tons;

7.      Congo (Kinshasa)          3 million tons;

8.      Canada                      2.9 million tons;

9.      Germany                    2.7 million tons;

10.   Mexico                      1.7 million tons;

11.   Czech Republic          1.3 million tons;

12.   Serbia                         1.2 million tons;

13.   Russia                         1 million tons;

14.   Peru                             880,000 tons;

15.   Mali                              700,000 tons;

16.  Zimbabwe                      500,000 tons;

17.  Brazil                             470,000 tons;

18.  Spain                             300,000 tons;

19.  Portugal                         270,000 tons;

20.  Ghana                            130,000 tons;

21.  Austria                             60,000 tons;

22.  Finland                            50,000 tons;

23.   Kazakhstan                       50,000 tons, and

24.  Namibia                            50,000 tons.

Yet, a mining professor in Portugal warns against accepting such figures of resource distribution.

“Here, we have this thing of saying that we have the fifth, sixth, eighth biggest reserve . . . that is exactly the same as nothing,” Carlos Leal Gomes, professor at the University of Minho, told Euronews (June 9, 2023). “You only know the place when you start the production of lithium.”

Savannah Finds More Rock

Savannah Lithium said that it has found 40 percent more spodumene (hard rock lithium-bearing mineral) than it expected in its drilling, reported Expresso (September 15).

Savannah was incorporated in 2010. Having assumed an initial 75 percent interest in the Barroso mine in May 2017, it subsequently became the mine’s sole owner and expanded the project, according to the company’s website.

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).

Portugal Could Become a True Powerhouse

In Portugal, it seems that the businesses, scientists, engineers, academics and politicians who advocate lithium mining are not talking to the shepherds, beekeepers, farmers, vintners and olive oil producers who would be affected by the mines.

They live in two different worlds, much less not sitting at the same table. There is a lack of communication and, therefore, trust.

Imagine if all the parties respected each other and, therefore, listened to and spoke with each other. The sharing of old knowledge and new disciplines would propel Portugal into becoming a true powerhouse.