Between 700 and 800 people are expected to participate in the Camp for the Defense of Barroso, from Thursday to Monday, in Covas do Barroso, municipality of Boticas, an event that includes cultural moments and a street march against lithium exploitation.
“The aim is to publicize our struggle, bring people here to Barroso, people from all over, people who are willing to support and help in our fight,” Nelson Gomes of the Unidos em Defesa de Covas do Barroso (UDCB) association said today to the Lusa News Agency.
The sixth edition of the camp, which takes place in the northern village of the Vila Real district, runs from Thursday to Sunday and, according to Nelson Gomes, is expected to attract “between 700 and 800 national and foreign participants”.
Registrations, he noted, had to close earlier due to the number of people interested in participating in the event, which aims to publicize the struggle of those who oppose lithium exploitation in this territory.
“This shows that we are doing a good job and that the reason is on our side and that we cannot continue to sacrifice these populations, these territories, when we see that, after all, the country will not gain anything from this project, from this exploitation,” he said.
Savannah Resources foresees the start of the Barroso mine construction in 2027, a project that obtained a favorable conditional Environmental Impact Declaration (DIA) in 2023.
In July, the company announced that it had completed the Definitive Feasibility Study for the lithium mine, which confirms an initial life of 14 years for the project and an estimated ore reserve of 20 million tonnes, forecasting production of approximately 2.56 million tonnes of spodumene concentrate during this period, enough raw material for more than seven million batteries for electric vehicles.
The project is opposed by residents, local authorities and environmentalists.
“What had been promised for a long time, that the value chain would stay in Portugal, that we would have refiners, that we would have battery factories and everything else, but what we see are projects, such as the lithium refinery in Estarreja, which was abandoned because they understood that this is not profitable and makes no sense,” said the president of UDCB.
Recently, the Expresso newspaper reported that the Melo Group decided not to proceed with the industrial investment in a lithium refinery in Estarreja, a project for which it planned an investment of 492 million euros.
During the five days, talks will take place in Covas do Barroso, on topics ranging from the struggles in Barroso or internationally against mining exploitation, energy transition and mining.
The program also includes ‘workshops’, performances, concerts, film screenings, field visits and nature walks and, on Saturday afternoon, as happens every year, there will be a street march through the village streets against the mine.
“We speak out in the place where we live and I think the protest should be here because this is where things are happening. It is from here that we want to pass the message and it is here that we want people to come and see and really understand what is happening,” emphasised Nelson Gomes.
