Initially I wasn't too hopeful that this project stood a snowball's chance in hell of ever being authorised by the local authorities to advance to the exploitation stage. Given the past history of viable Li deposits here in Europe getting stymied by local environmentalist opposition, have to say I'm still not overly optimistic, however, this exploitation authorisation anouncement (link below - in French) released yesterday in France (where I've been living for some years) does give some hope, frankly.
My readers will recall that France, like Spain, is a member of the EU, thus the rules regarding mining are similar. Thus what happens here could well have a knock on effect on official thinking on these things in Spain (which is right next door) --- particularly as their province of Castille y Leon is the hub of the burgeoning Spanish automobie industry (which comes under the same EU directive regarding phasing out of fossil fuels by [forget the precise date]):
France will open its first lithium mine, one of the largest in Europe Posted on 24/10/2022 at 16:47
By Raphael Mahlmann
The Imerys group, the world leader in mineral specialties for industry, has announced the launch of a gigantic lithium mining project in Allier for 2028, with the ambition of becoming the European market leader.
The industrial minerals group Imerys announced on Monday, October 24, the start of mining of a lithium deposit on the Beauvoir site, in the Allier, by 2028. While France and the rest of Europe are still largely dependent on the import of lithium, this mine should become one of the largest on the continent and serve to accelerate the energy transition by supplying the electric car industry.
Since the 19th century, the Beauvoir site has been exploiting kaolin for the production of ceramics and porcelain. The life of the mine is estimated at 25 years, for an estimated investment cost of 1 billion euros. In total, 1,000 jobs will be created to carry out the project, promised Imerys. 34,000 tonnes of lithium per year
The group aims to make France the leader of the European market and projects a production of lithium hydroxide reaching 34,000 tonnes per year for at least 25 years. That is a capacity equivalent to the needs of around 700,000 electric vehicles.
The project, called Emili, aims in particular to respond to the challenges of energy transition and industrial sovereignty in France and Europe. "Once the Emili project is completed, it should provide a sustainable and competitive domestic source of lithium supply for French and European car manufacturers and would greatly contribute to meeting the challenges of the energy transition", enthuses Alessandro Dazza, CEO of Imerys. China's monopoly
“Lithium – raw material and essential component of Lithium-ion batteries – was identified as critical by the European Commission in 2020”, recalls the group. However, for the moment, China largely dominates the lithium market in terms of exports. The latter exported 49,000 tonnes of lithium oxides and hydroxides in 2019.
With this project, France is trying to meet the commitments of the European Union concerning the end of the production of thermal cars by 2035. In addition, it also follows the ambitions communicated by Emmanuel Macron on all-electric car production. by 2030.
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