Tender for lithium exploration advances, but only in six locations
Only after a first tender procedure and the prospecting phase (within a maximum of five years) can lithium exploration begin.
The Portuguese government announced on Tuesday that the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) conducted by the Directorate General of Energy and Geology (DGEG) concluded that in six areas analysed there are conditions to move forward with lithium prospecting and research.
Only after a first tender procedure and the prospecting phase (within a maximum of five years) can lithium exploration begin. At that stage, each of the projects will be subject to an Environmental Impact Assessment.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry for the Environment and Climate Action (MAAC), in the next 60 days, the tender for granting rights to companies to start work on the ground may move forward.
Initially, there were eight areas with potential for lithium. Now, in the six sites given as viable, it is proposed to reduce the initial area by half, MAAC said.
The sites that will go to tender are:
- Masseieme (Pinhel, Trancoso, Mêda, Almeida)
- Guarda-Mangualde C
- Guarda-Mangualde E
- Guarda-Mangualde W
- Guarda-Mangalde NW
- Seixoso Vieiros (Fafe, Felgueiras, Amarante, Guimarães, Mondim de Basto and Celorico de Basto)
The DGEG’s Strategic Environmental Assessment concluded that in the “Arga” (Serra d’Arga, Alto Minho) and “Segura” (Idanha a Nova, Castelo Branco) areas the environmental restrictions “inhibit prospection and consequent exploration”, thus remaining outside the object of the future tender.
In the remaining six areas, zones of greater urban, functional and demographic density were excluded, resulting in a 49% reduction of the total area initially subject to Environmental Assessment.
