When I read the CURRENT article, I ask myself ....why have NO...

When I read the CURRENT article, I ask myself

....why have NO permits EVER been submitted as a strategic European project?

https://www.kleinezeitung.at/kaernten/lavanttal/19772096/so-steht-es-um-den-lithiumabbau-auf-der-weinebene

"Risks and Opportunities"

The Status of Lithium Mining on the Weinebene

The non-governmental organization Attac hosted a panel discussion in Frantschach-St. Gertraud about the planned lithium extraction in the Koralm region.

Günther Vallant, Nina Djukanović, and Michael Tost (from left to right) shared their views in front of a large audience in the "artBOX."

Author: Gerfried Ambrosch

Gerfried Ambrosch, Editor, Regional Editorial Office Lavanttal & Völkermarkt

June 7, 2025, 1:04 p.m.

Should lithium be mined on the Weinebene in the Koralm region in the future—and will it be? Numerous attendees listened on June 6 to a panel discussion initiated by Attac Austria in the "artBOX" in Frantschach-St. Gertraud, featuring Mayor Günther Vallant (SPÖ), Nina Djukanović—an Oxford doctoral student researching lithium mining in Serbia—and Michael Tost, Professor of Sustainable Mining Engineering at the Montanuniversität Leoben. The audience also actively participated in the discussion. Not represented was the prospective operating company European Lithium.

According to Tost, the company has not applied for recognition as a strategic project under the European Critical Raw Materials Act. Such recognition would have allowed an approval process within 27 months. Normally, such procedures take ten to fifteen years. He is also skeptical because European Lithium reported land use just barely below the threshold of ten hectares, which would trigger a mandatory Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). A complaint has already been filed with the Federal Administrative Court. "Significant areas were overlooked," said Mayor Vallant. Tost added: "If a project is properly prepared, there is no need to fear the EIA."