Ann: Environmental Milestone Reached on the Wolfsberg Project, page-74

New report in the Austrian media
from 18.12.24

“Huge encroachment”
Lithium mining on the Koralpe:
objections rage

https://www.krone.at/3627698

An Australian company wants to mine lithium in the Styrian-Carinthian border region, process the sought-after raw material in Saudi Arabia and ultimately make billions in profits worldwide with the “white gold”.
Sounds bizarre, but it's true. The project is now facing headwinds.

The state of Carinthia sees no need for an EIA

As the tunnel entrance is located in Frantschach, the state of Carinthia had to decide whether or not the large-scale project required an environmental impact assessment (EIA). Recently, the surprising decision was made that there would be no nature conservation concerns. A slap in the face for concerned residents and conservationists: without an EIA, they are deprived of the opportunity to participate in a transparent approval process.

For Styrian environmental lawyer Ute Pöllinger, this is reason enough to take action:
“The planned intervention in the mountain is enormous. The project borders directly on high-value protected areas. Nobody knows what impact blasting and other work will have on the springs there.” Her complaint against the official decision of the state of Carinthia was sent on Monday.

Threshold only just undercut What the expert finds particularly annoying: An EIA is automatically required for a project area of ten hectares or more. The project was submitted with 9.8 hectares.

For her Carinthian colleague Rudolf Auernig from the Nature Conservation Advisory Board, it is also “incomprehensible” how “a project of this size can get by without an EIA”. “Our complaint is currently being drafted”. Global 2000 has echoed similar sentiments: “Profits must not take precedence over residents and the environment. We are also filing a complaint,” says resource spokesperson Anna Leitner.

Another veto comes from Frantschach as the local municipality: “We have consulted with our lawyer and will submit our complaint to the municipal council for a resolution on Wednesday.” Postscript: “We are not against the project, we just want fairness and transparency.”

Incidentally, no one from European Lithium was available for the “Krone”.