Dakota Minerals Ltd plans to invest up to 370 million euros to extract and process lithium

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/una-minera-invertirá-hasta-370-millones-para-extraer-litio-pereira

The Australian mining company Dakota Minerals Ltd plans to invest up to 370 million euros to extract and process lithium ore a few kilometers from the Galician border, destined to the automotive industry. The "excellent results" of its explorations at the Cepeda site, about 20 kilometers from the border with the province of Ourense (in the Vila Real district of Luso), have accelerated the plans of the southern company, which will generate about 200 Jobs in the processes of extraction and transformation of this coveted mineral, essential for the manufacture of the new lithium-ion batteries that currently use all electric and hybrid cars. Dakota intends to start commercial operation in 2019, coinciding with the start-up of several battery plants in Europe, as FARO (see December 6 edition).
Australian CEO David Frances, who has more than 25 years of experience in the mining industry in several companies, confirmed that they are willing to invest between 200 and 400 million dollars (between 185 and 370 million euros To the change) in the commercial exploitation of this deposit, one of the three that Dakota is studying in the north of the neighboring country. The entire process (extraction and processing) will be carried out in the district of Vila Real, where a plant will be built that will employ about 200 workers, according to the newspaper Luso Jornal de Negócios. French explained that the water resources of the area will be used for the processing of lithium and that the distribution of the product will be made with 100% electric trucks to reduce the carbon footprint.

"Using products from Portugal that help the rest of Europe to be more sustainable is something to be proud of, apart from creating jobs and wealth," Frances told the Portuguese newspaper. Dakota Minerals Ltd has three mining concessions in the northernmost part of the country: Sepeda in Vila Real, Serra de Arga in the District of Viana do Castelo, and the third in Almendra-Barca de Alva on the border With the province of Salamanca. The company values this discovery in a country included in the Fraser Institute's top ten world ranking, which is preparing to divest itself in Australia to focus on its future Portuguese business.

Portugal is the sixth largest lithium producer in the world - considered the gasoline of the future - with an operative mine near Mangualde (Felmica), where the satellite plant of the center of Vigo of the French automotive multinational Grupo PSA is located, although in this case the Extracted mineral is used entirely for the ceramic industry. The Portuguese business lobbies and the Lisbon government believe that the existence of large reserves of lithium is a boon in their favor in the race for Tesla Motors future gigafactoría in Europe, as this newspaper said. Other countries that have positioned themselves to capture this investment have also used their lithium reserves as a claim, such as Filandia.

The resurgence of the electric car and the consolidation of the hybrids have reactivated the demand for lithium-ion batteries and at the same time the need to have manufacturers of this type of components. There are currently three macroplants under development in Europe - Panasonic already has an operation in Bratislava, South Korea's Samsung SDI and LG Chem and the German supplier BMZ GmbH, strategically located near the big German assemblers (Volkswagen, Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, etc.). To these four projects is added the gigafactoría of the company that pilots Elon Musk (Tesla Motors), that will combine like in the United States (the US) the manufacture of vehicles 100% premium electric and lithium batteries, and by which Middle battle Europe.