Savannah regrets "lies" against Barroso mine

Savannah said this Thursday that it is proud of the European Commission's recognition of the Barroso mine, which it classified as a strategic project, considering that its opponents continue to “spread lies” and “recycle arguments” that have already been refuted.

The Unidos em Defesa de Covas do Barroso (UDCB) association, MiningWatch Portugal and ClientEarth contested the support given by the European Commission to the lithium mine, in the municipality of Boticas, in the north of the Vila Real district, and called on Wednesday for a reassessment of the decision to classify it as a strategic project, under the Critical Raw Materials Regulation.

The three non-governmental organizations (NGOs) considered that the European Commission “did not correctly assess” the environmental and social risks of the open-pit mine, and so they filed a complaint with this European body, which will have to respond within 22 weeks, and may then go to the Court of Justice of the European Union.

“Our project is proud of the European Commission’s recognition as a strategic project for Europe. It is also proud of the decisive role it can play in the reindustrialization of Portugal, in the generation of jobs in the interior of the country and in the energy transition of Europe. It is a huge responsibility that we have on our hands, and we want to live up to it ,” Savannah told Lusa news agency, in a reaction to the NGOs’ initiative.

The company also regretted that “lies continue to be spread about Barroso’s lithium project, intentionally and repeatedly”.

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“The group of people behind the complaint announced today is, once again, recycling arguments that have already been refuted several times, that lack scientific basis, that are based on a study carried out by someone who repeats the same theses in each project that he “evaluates” and that is based on erroneous premises”, he said.

Exemplifying with the thesis that the mine “will have a tailings dam, and that this is dangerous”, when the “ tailings dam is an infrastructure that simply does not exist in this project ”.

Among the concerns revealed by the NGOs are the “unsafe” proposal for the storage of waste (solid and/or liquid waste that is discarded after the ore is processed), the proposed water sources for the mine “considered unviable” and the “approval of the site does not meet the necessary environmental conditions”.

The organizations noted that residents of nearby villages such as Covas do Barroso, Romaínho and Muro have long warned that the project puts their land and livelihoods at risk. “Lies do not become truths by being repeated. We are one of the most scrutinized projects in the country, with a solid and transparent technical basis ,” Savannah added.

The open-pit lithium mine obtained a conditional Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in 2023 and the company expects to begin production in 2027.

In a statement released, Savannah pointed to the “good progress of the work, both on the ground and on several other fronts”, said it continues with the “normal program of friendly land acquisition” and working with the authorities to obtain access to land through the legal instruments at its disposal , such as the figures of administrative servitude or expropriation.

According to the company, work on preparing the Environmental Compliance Report for the Execution Project (RECAPE) “continues at a good pace”, also mentioning that, in April, it submitted to the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) the environmental impact study for the future 16-kilometre bypass road provided for in the project.