Source1
Source2
IMO at least the last comment (marked bold) needs more clarification from Novo Litio !!
Prospection wants to deposit 30 million tons of lithium in Montalegre
Prospecting in Sepeda, Montalegre, revealed a deposit of 30 million tons of lithium, according to Lusorecursos, and underlined that the exploration project provides for an investment of 400 million euros and the creation of 250 jobs.
After years of prospecting and a legal dispute with the Australian company New Lithium, the director of Lusorecursos, Ricardo Pinheiro, Lusa said that the process is "stabilized" and that the next step is "signing the concession agreement." Exploitation with the state " .
Contact recorded by Lusa, the General Directorate of Energy and Geology (DGEG), through the Ministry of Economy, clarified that the "owner of the contract for prospecting and research and the subsequent application for exploration the company Lusorecursos."
The source also said that the Sepeda process "is under investigation and that the company should present the Environmental Impact Study" (EIA) and that at the moment "it is not possible to provide a date prediction for the signing of the contract" correctly because of the MER.
Ricardo Pinheiro said that only in the area studied in Sepeda, the parish of Morgade and Sarraquinhos, the municipality of Montalegre, the prospects indicate a deposit of "30 million tons of lithium." The concession area is much larger than the area studied.
"In the world list of lithium explorations extracted from stone, this is the fifth largest mine in the world," he said.
Global demand for lithium, used for the production of car batteries and plates used for the production of household appliances, is increasing and Portugal is recognized as one of the countries with sufficient reserves for economically viable commercial exploitation.
Ricardo Pinheiro said there are still studies going on, but he said that the project of exploration and first transformation in Sepeda could "amount to about 400 million euros" and "create 250 direct jobs".
"It's about adding value to the product here in Montalegre," he said.
The project aims, he added, the construction of an industrial unit for the processing of lithium compounds, which will be powered by renewable energy.
Ricardo Pinheiro also said that one of the priorities is to support the return of "children of the earth" and that no mining villages will be created in this area.
Instead, the idea is to help rebuild and revitalize the villages in the concession area.
The project is accompanied by a "plan for environmental restoration", which provides for continuous reforestation in the landfills that are being built with ore mining and also for the financing of conservation projects of the Gerês-Xurés Biosphere Reserve.
The exploration in Sepeda will take place in the open air, without the use of explosives and with the use of a machine, such as an agricultural router, that will rip the rock.
The geologist António Silva said the project generated a lot of interest in the international community, with various scientific institutions that want to work in partnership there.
The lithium mining concession in Sepeda came to court in 2017 after the New Lithium procedure with Lusorecursos.
In that year the Ministry of Economic Affairs clarified that it had a "duly valid" contract with the Portuguese company for the exploration and research of lithium in Montalegre.
The research and research contract was signed on 7 December 2012 between the Portuguese State and Lusorecursos, with an initial period of two years and with the possibility of three annual extensions, up to a maximum of five years.
As early as February of this year, the Court of Appeal of Guimarães confirmed the decision of first instance that rejected the precautionary measure rejected by the Australian company to be with the concession of the exploitation of lithium in Sepeda.
For Lusa, Ricardo Pinheiro said that the "divergence with the new lithium has been cured".
"The New Lithium has filed a lawsuit before the court, which has lost, appealed to the Relation that was also lost, so the subject has been completely resolved. Lusorecursos currently has all the conditions to go further," he emphasized.
(20min delay)