Savannah disputes clays Portugal hid Barroso mine date

[Ben Graham]

Savannah Resources (LON: SAV) is pushing back against media reports that cited a United Nations committee accusing Portuguese authorities of breaching international law during the approval process for the company’s Barroso lithium project.

In a statement to MINING.COM on Friday, Savannah’s Communications Manager António Neves Costa said two of the public bodies named in the UN document have since clarified their positions, stressing that no step of the licensing process was carried out outside Portuguese law.

The Portuguese Environmental Agency (APA) said this week the Barroso project underwent the longest public consultation period ever granted to an industrial project in the country, spanning more than 110 days. 

The Northern Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR-N) also rejected the suggestion that it withheld information, saying it made available all documents in line with national law and the Commission for Access to Administrative Documents.

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The clarifications follow a report by the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee, quoted by Reuters, which concluded that Portugal failed to guarantee citizens’ rights to environmental information and participation during the project’s licensing process. The committee cited delays and refusals in providing requested information.

According to Reuters, the committee’s findings reinforced calls from residents and environmental groups for the project’s licence to be revoked. The APA responded that while it has a “divergent interpretation” of the Convention, it always acted in strict compliance with administrative procedures.

Neves said Savannah views the clarifications as crucial to understanding the complexity of the case.

First output in 2027

Savannah is seeking to develop what it calls Western Europe’s largest mine of spodumene, a hard-rock form of lithium. The company plans to build four open-pit mines in northern Portugal, with the goal of producing enough lithium annually for 500,000 to one million electric vehicle batteries. First output is slated for 2027.

Once in production, Barroso is expected to have a throughput of about 1.5 million tonnes annually over its estimated 14-year mine life, based on a resource of 20.5 million tonnes at 1.05% lithium oxide.