INF had a good run with European lithium awareness building , in...

INF had a good run with European lithium awareness building , in particular VW's support for local mining. News below re: Infinity and Valoriza Minería appears problematic with decision of Extremadura Council to cancel exploitation concession:

https://www.hoy.es/caceres/junta-cancela-solicitud-20190529200445-nt.html

Rough translate via Google:

Manuel M. Núñez
Wednesday, May 29 2019, 22:05

An opinion of the Legal Commission of Extremadura supports the environmental complaint regarding the lack of public information
"The Junta de Extremadura gave this Wednesday administrative shelves to the lithium mine. He did so with a resolution from the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure that cancels "the exploitation concession request" for Valdeflores, as reported by the regional administration late in the afternoon. Said resolution is based on an opinion of the Legal Commission of Extremadura. The same, of a "mandatory and binding" nature, recalls the Board, is produced as a result of an ex officio review of the file that Acima had requested. The Association for Environmental Communication and Information understood that the administrative procedure put in place by the Government of Extremadura has not complied with the publicity requirements required by law.

The opinion of the Legal Commission reaches the conclusion that there is cause for nullity in the resolution of October 13, 2016 of the General Directorate of Industry, Energy and Mines. By means of this resolution, the research permit of two mining grids in Valdeflores was granted, besides authorizing the restoration plan to Extremadura Technology of Lithium (TEL). In this way, the Board itself follows the verdict of the Legal Commission and "has proceeded to declare the resolution null," the Infrastructure Department reported yesterday.

In the same way, the request for exploitation concession that promoters submitted in October 2017 is canceled. Thus, the Acima resource, taken more than a year ago, is the basis that sustains the one that is a serious blow to the expectations of the mining company in Cáceres. Acima defended, and so the Board now understands, that the process of public participation was omitted and the administrations consulted. This group, which collaborates with the Plataforma Salvemos la Montaña for some time, maintains that the procedure was processed without public participation because citizens were not informed "about their right to participate, making allegations and suggestions.

Neither did it provide sufficient data to identify the affected space, nor the organ to which they could go, among other requirements. At the same time, according to Acima, the DOE is also not the appropriate medium for dissemination, so these "publication defects" prevented it from being alleged.

Despite the significant setback that the resolution of the Board assumes, TEL wants to start up the legal machinery. The company was scheduled to issue an official statement on Wednesday night. Infinity Lithium and Valoriza Mining, the two partners involved in the project, will not sit idly by. The initial intention would be to file an administrative appeal, as it is believed that it could prosper as it is a question of deadlines, simply. The company has not wanted to advance anything on possible legal movements.

The candidate of Cs to the presidency of the Board, Cayetano Polo, had stated hours earlier that the issue of the mine would have a place in the negotiations on the Mayor's office and the next municipal government.

Euphoria in the environmental groups
"The groups of wasap and the social networks fumed from last hour of the afternoon, after knowing the decision of the Meeting on the mine. Members of the Salvemos la Montaña Platform highlighted the "important victory", with the doubt of whether it would be final or there will be a next part. The Platform values the great work done by Acima, which since 2017 has collaborated with legal support against the mining project. "They were in favor of recurring with legal basis, always. The rest of us were skeptical, but it was a decisive move ", pointed out from environmental groups that did not hesitate to express their euphoria despite the fact that the company is already preparing the legal machinery."