The Parish Council of Covas do Barroso today expressed ‘deep concern’ about the lithium exploration works at the Barroso mine in Boticas, a project that in 2023 obtained a conditionally favorable Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
In a statement, this local authority in the municipality of Boticas, district of Vila Real, accuses the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) of “inaction” and a “permissive stance”, speaks of “environmental non-compliance” and demands the urgent annulment of the EIA.
“The Parish Council of Covas do Barroso hereby makes public its deep concern regarding the works started by Savannah Lithium in the area covered by the administrative servitude associated with the Barroso Mine project. It should be recalled that this project obtained, in 2023, a conditionally favorable EIA, which establishes a clear set of rules and limitations on intervention in the territory,” reads the statement.
Among the conditions “the prohibition of land clearing between March 15 and September 1, a period environmentally sensitive for local wildlife,” the municipality describes, adding that “contrary to the company’s discourse, the project does not enjoy the support of the majority of the local population, who have refused to sell their lands.”
“In the face of this resistance, Savannah resorted to imposing an administrative servitude, whose order explicitly ties the required works to the 2023 EIA. Even so, the company began land clearing works in several areas of the servitude since May 25, in the full prohibited period,” describes the Parish Council.
In response to the start of the works, several local bodies filed complaints with the APA, an entity which the Covas do Barroso Parish Council now criticizes because, it says, “has remained silent.”
“Savannah Lithium justifies these actions by claiming that the works in question must follow the 2005 EIA, relating to a previous project. The Covas do Barroso Parish Council categorically rejects this argument, considering it unfounded and arbitrary. The current project has a substantially expanded dimension and complexity, configuring a new project, which is why a new EIA was required in 2023. It should be added that, until now, the APA has remained silent in the face of a situation of manifest gravity,” it adds.
For the municipality the company was “benefited by the APA’s inaction,” having the opportunity, thanks to “the delay in the response of the competent authorities,” to “continue clearing.”
“The Parish Council reiterates its opposition to the Barroso Mine project, which has been conducted in an imposing, non-transparent manner and under political pressure,” it states,
For the municipality this project is “full of technical flaws and superficial assessments.”
“It is incomprehensible that a project like the Barroso Mine, a source of conflict, with significant impacts and dependent on expropriation mechanisms, is not the subject of effective supervision. Whether due to lack of resources or lack of political will, there is no evidence of rigorous control of the EIA. This failure to ensure oversight undermines confidence in the licensing mechanisms and in the environmental guarantees associated with the project. Therefore, the Covas do Barroso Parish Council defends that the EIA does not meet the conditions for compliance and should be annulled as a matter of urgency,” concludes.
Savannah’s undertaking was temporarily suspended on Tuesday, the company told Lusa when confirming that it had been notified on that day of the temporary suspension order of the works associated with lithium exploration at the Barroso mine after a precautionary measure admitted by the Administrative and Fiscal Court of Mirandela.
According to the company, the notification “takes effect only from today [referring to Tuesday, 9 June],” which “proves the illegality of the block imposed on the works last week,” criticizing the promoters of the action.
The Local Community of the Covas do Barroso Common Lands, in Boticas, advanced with a precautionary measure to suspend the second administrative servitude associated with the Barroso mine, published in the Diário da República (Official Journal) on May 6, and signed by the Secretary of State for Energy, Jean Paulo Gil Barroca.
On June 1, Lusa reported that the Administrative and Fiscal Court of Mirandela accepted the precautionary measure and that the second contested administrative servitude was attributed to Savannah Resources, promoter of the Barroso mine, allowing it to access private and common lands, totaling 228 hectares in Covas do Barroso and Romaínho, for the carrying out of drilling and geotechnical works within the lithium exploration project.
That day, the Management Council of the Covas do Barroso Parish’s Common Lands stated in a communique that Savannah was “obliged to halt works due to the precautionary measure.”
This entity pointed to the “disproportionate size of the new servitude,” which requires the occupation of about 217 hectares of fallow land, almost half of which (102.2 hectares) are outside the project’s concession area, and where Savannah Resources plans to install 51 drilling platforms and 194 geotechnical wells.
The Ministry of the Environment had already authorized a first servitude in December 2024, which led to the filing of a precautionary measure by landowners, resulting in the suspension of prospecting works for 15 days in February 2025.
According to a source from the commons, the main action related to the first precautionary measure did not proceed, because the company’s works had ended in the meantime.
The mining project was enabled by the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), with the issuance of a conditionally favorable Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in 2023.
The company intends to start construction in 2027 and reach first production in 2028.
