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Positive DIA for Savannah Resources Barroso Lithium Project

Published by , Editorial Assistant
Global Mining Review,


Savannah, the european lithium development company, has reported that Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente (APA), the Portuguese Environmental regulator, has issued a Positive Declaration of Environmental Impact (DIA) for Savannah’s wholly owned Barroso Lithium Project (the ‘Project’) in northern Portugal. With this key positive decision, the Project can now progress to the next stage of the environmental licencing process (RECAPE), and the outstanding work required to complete the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) on the Project can recommence.

Highlights

  • Savannah has received a positive DIA from APA for its revised design and optimisation for the Barroso Lithium Project, which encompasses feedback from stakeholders to further minimise the environmental impact of the Project.
  • This represents a major milestone for the Project and is the first positive DIA for a lithium raw material supply project in Portugal, while implementing European best ESG practices.
  • As expected, in line with international practice, the DIA has been issued with a set of conditions, measures and compensations (the ‘Conditions’) which, following review, Savannah has agreed to, and which should provide further assurance that the Project will be developed and operated in a socially and environmentally responsible way, and that socio-economic benefits will be shared with stakeholders.
  • The positive DIA allows the Company to progress key economic studies on the Project, including the publication of an updated Scoping Study expected in early 2H23, and the recommencing of the Definitive Feasibility Study.

Dale Ferguson, CEO of Savannah commented, “We are delighted that APA has issued a positive DIA for the Barroso Lithium Project. This is an extremely important step forward, not only in the development of the Project, but also in the development of the lithium raw material industry in Portugal. Given Savannah’s commitment to responsible practices, minimising impact and sharing socio-economic benefits, the Company has agreed to the Conditions associated with the DIA. These Conditions include obtaining conditional approval to construct the proposed bypass road to join to the A24 motorway and limiting the removal of vegetation from the Project area to certain months of the year. Others, such as not taking water from the Covas River and backfilling or partially backfilling and re-landscaping the mining areas once ore extraction has ceased, mirror plans and commitments the Company has already made in its submissions to APA, our community engagement programme and decarbonisation targets. The decision from APA now gives us the detailed framework we need to produce the final technical design of the Project. Hence, our next major task on a technical front is to undertake all the outstanding work necessary to complete the Project’s final design. This will then allow us to complete both the environmental licencing process and the Project’s Definitive Feasibility Study. With the Project taking a big step towards development through this decision, our other major task is to further increase our engagement with all stakeholders so they are kept well informed of how the Project will now progress, and how they can work with us and our engagement team to help shape the Project’s social role in the region. In this way, everyone can benefit from the long-term socio-economic opportunities the Project will create. We will also be looking to add to our own team as the Project workload increases. APA’s positive decision is a fundamental de-risking milestone for the Project and marks the start of an exciting new phase for the Barroso Lithium Project, for Savannah and for Portugal as it takes its first step to seizing a significant role in Europe’s lithium battery value chain and energy transition. It also reflects the excellent and dedicated hard work of the Company’s staff, particularly our licencing team of Joao Barros and Sonia Coelho, and professional advisers over the last eleven months since the Project entered the Article 16 process.”

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/mining/01062023/positive-dia-for-savannah-resources-barroso-lithium-project/

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Lithium mining news European mining news