Savannah nears full ownership of Barroso lithium lease

[Ben Graham]

Savannah Resources (LON: SAV) is closing in on full ownership of a high-grade lithium lease at its Barroso project in northern Portugal after the Aldeia Mining Lease vendor instructed the national regulator to transfer the C-190 licence to the company.

The Aldeia lease sits next to Savannah’s C-100 concession and hosts a JORC-compliant resource of 3.5 million tonnes grading 1.30% Li₂O on Block A, representing about 11% of Barroso’s global resource and adding exploration upside across three blocks. Savannah plans to include the Indicated Resource in its upcoming definitive feasibility study.

The €3.25 million ($3.8 million) acquisition is funded partly through a recent oversubscribed equity raise and structured as staged payments to Portugal’s Directorate General for Energy and Geology. Savannah said the deal will strengthen Barroso’s resource base and future production profile as Europe seeks secure lithium supply for its energy transition.

Chief executive officer Emanuel Proença said completing the transfer was a key objective of the fundraising and marked an important milestone ahead of year end, with formal state approval now pending.

Strategic

The European Union earlier this year designated Barroso a strategic project, a status Savannah expects will unlock funding support, although the company has not disclosed how much of the cost could be offset. Barroso hosts more than 39 million tonnes of high-grade spodumene, a hard-rock form of lithium.

Savannah plans to develop four open-pit mines capable of producing enough lithium each year to supply batteries for about 500,000 electric vehicles. Proença has said the project can break even at lithium prices of $600 a tonne, positioning the company to compete with larger producers while offering European customers shorter, more secure supply chains.

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Production is now expected to begin in 2028, a year later than the earlier target of 2027. Portugal has mined lithium for ceramics for decades but has yet to produce battery-grade material at scale. Proença has said Barroso could ultimately command a valuation of about €1 billion ($1.2 billion).

Once operational, the project is forecast to process 1.5 million tonnes a year over an estimated 14-year mine life, based on a resource of 20.5 million tonnes grading 1.05% lithium oxide.

Pushback

Despite its strategic importance, the project faces opposition from local communities and environmental groups. The Barroso region has been recognized as a World Heritage agricultural site since 2018, prompting concerns about land use, water and biodiversity.

Savannah said it aims to complete its definitive feasibility study and environmental licensing by the end of this year and has rejected media reports citing a United Nations committee that accused Portuguese authorities of breaching international law during the approval process.