News from Protugal

translated by Google ... it seems the "court war" between Luso and Novo finally makes an impact ...
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Licenses for the exploitation of what is called "white oil", lithium, are no longer automatically allocated and are now decided on in public tenders. A government decision that will spice up the "fight" for the exploitation of the ore.

The first public tenders for lithium mining in Portugal are expected to be launched by the end of June, according to Correio da Manhã (CM), a government source.

In queue, there are more than 30 applications for licensing for exploration and exploitation of lithium, an area where Portugal is considered a world power.

So far, these licensing requests have been virtually automatic, but the government intends to tighten this process so that it can "exploit the potential of this ore," says the CM. The government's aim is to "create an industrial lithium", says the same source.

In public tenders, in addition to the exploitation of the ore per se, projects involving a "larger, longer-lasting investment with the creation of more jobs" will be valued and "to integrate the whole value chain related to the production sectors where lithium is applied, "says the Economic Journal.

This idea is included in a resolution of the Council of Ministers that mentions the interest in promoting the installation in Portugal of "root-producing units", namely of lithium batteries for electric cars, adds that newspaper.

(dr) Dakota Minerals

Lithium is considered the "white oil"

To fine-tune its strategy to take advantage of this ore, the Secretary of State for Energy, Seguro Sanches, attends a meeting of the European Alliance for Batteries in Brussels on Monday.

At this meeting, the president will present the National Strategy for Lithium, a report that identified nine areas with potential for lithium exploitation.

The current project for ore prospecting is tied with a court war between Australian companies New Lithium, formerly Dakota Minerals, and Portugal's Lusorecursos. The two entities compete for rights to exploit lithium in Sepeda, Montalegre.