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There is another battlefront on the other side of the continent. Serbia in turmoil over environmental impact of lithium mining “We import lithium for electric cars, platinum to produce clean hydrogen, silicon metal for solar panels – 98% of the rare earth elements we need come from a single supplier, China, and this is not sustainable,” President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said in February.
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The European Commission is concerned about the dependence on imports of lithium and components for devices The administration in Brussels vowed to work on reducing the dependency on third countries, diversifying supply and improving resource efficiency and circularity. In addition to its European Battery Alliance, established in 2017, the European Commission launched the European Raw Materials Alliance last year and added lithium to its list of critical raw materials, most of which are necessary for green technologies. EU trying to secure supply with focus on environmental sustainability On the other hand, China produces more than half of the world’s lithium ion battery components. LusoRecursos and Savannah Resources claim the local material is suitable for batteries and other uses.Īustralia supplied 54.4% of lithium on a global scale in 2019, over two times more than Chile. The country had a 1.6% share of global production of the metal in 2019, though it is shipped to ceramics and glassware manufacturers, Fitch said in a recent report.
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Australia dominates lithium marketĬritics question the cost-effectiveness of exploiting the petalite mineral in Portugal, as it is expensive to process it for lithium, unlike spodumene, which is mined in other places in the world.
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Savannah Resources from the United Kingdom launched a public consultation process for the environmental impact study for the site. “Green mining doesn’t exist,” said Armando Pinto from the local initiative called Montalegre com Vida, while LusoRecursos threatened to sue the government.Īt the same time, Portugal is supporting the nearby Barroso lithium mining project. They said they fear the possibility of water contamination and also highlighted the risk for traditional farming activities, recognized by the United Nations as globally important agricultural heritage. Locals have opposed the Montalegre project, planned for development at a site next to the Gerês-Xurés biosphere reserve and their land. The consumer electronics industry, electric car manufacturers and investors in renewable energy depend on lithium for batteries, though the alkali metal has widespread use in other sectors as well and demand is rapidly growing. The project in Montalegre in the north was supposed to strengthen Portugal’s position as the biggest producer of the raw material in Europe. He told Politico the government may scrap the contract with LusoRecursos for exploration that was signed in 2019, citing the company’s “lack of professionalism” with regard to its “clearly insufficient” environmental impact study. Portugal’s Minister of Environment João Pedro Matos Fernandes has indicated that a EUR 500 million lithium mining and processing project is about to be “completely canceled” soon. Lithium is essential for batteries in consumer devices, electric vehicles and storage of energy from renewables. The European Union is trying to overhaul its supply chain and get access to the strategic commodity without harming the environment. LusoRecursos’ major project in Portugal may soon be scrapped, but another company is making progress with lithium in the same area.