http://www.laregion.es/articulo/ourense/frontera-portuguesa-gran-...

http://www.laregion.es/articulo/our...ehiculos-electricos/20170310184748692736.html

MINING
The Portuguese border, the large lithium container for electric vehicles
The area of Montalegre, on the border with Ourense, is the "Sepeda Project" area, where there would be more than 10 million tons of pegmatite

Three Portuguese border areas with Galicia and Castilla y León have become the major European reserves for the future extraction of lithium that supplies the European battery factories for electric cars.

The Sierra de Arga is located in the Alto Miño, the area of Montalegre on the border with Ourense and the term of Barca D`Alba, located on the natural border that marks the river Duero between this town and the Park Natural Arribes del Duero of Salamanca and Zamora.

These three areas are being explored by the Australian mining company Dakota, through its subsidiary in Portugal, called Lusorecursos LTD.

Dakota has published on its website its intentions to carry out the process of lithium extraction in the near future.

According to the company, these reserves are rich in the mineral called pegmatite, a rock from which lithium oxide could be extracted.

To date, Dakota has carried out 17 surveys in the area of Montalegre, bordering the Galician province of Ourense, in an area that has been called "Sepeda Project" and where, according to the most recent estimates, there would be a potential of more than 10 million Of tons of pegmatite, which would mean a ten-year mining life.

Among the first conclusions to be made by Dakota after the surveys in recent months, it appears that in these three areas of the Portuguese territory would be the largest lithium reserve in Europe.

Dakota CEO David Frances explained that this lithium mining zone has a special relevance to the growing demand for lithium batteries for electric cars in the European Union (EU).

According to Dakota, in Europe there are nine "megafactories" or projects in phase of production of batteries for electric cars, which will need a nearby supply area, which could be this enclave of the Portuguese north.

Portugal is one of the countries most favorable to mining activities, as Prime Minister Antonio Costa recalled earlier this week in which he urged the automaker Renault to produce lithium batteries for electric cars.

Renault, through its model ZOE, is one of the leading manufacturers of electric vehicles although, according to company sources consulted by EFE, at the moment it is not in their plans to produce in Portugal the batteries that need their electric cars.

Brands such as Hyundai, BMW, Volkswagen, Nissan or the American giant Tesla have evolved a lot in the last three years in the development of lithium batteries that give greater autonomy in their vehicles.

The Dakota company, meanwhile, indicates that there are countries where demand for electric vehicles has skyrocketed in recent years, such as Norway, where 22% of new car sales are electric.

The Australian company would be willing to explore new lithium reserves in Portugal and in the coming months it plans to prospect 47 new holes in its third phase of exploration in the area through four drilling rigs.