The Portuguese government has granted Savannah Resources a second administrative easement over 24 plots of private and communal land in the Covas do Barroso area of northern Portugal, allowing the British-based mining company to proceed with geotechnical survey work at its contested Barroso lithium project — a decision that has deepened the conflict between the state and local communities defending what is designated a World Agricultural Heritage site.
The easement, published in the state gazette Diário da República, was declared by the secretary of state for energy and grants Savannah access to the land for a period of one year. The company said the authorisation will allow it to complete geotechnical work to optimise its understanding of the foundations on which processing infrastructure and other facilities for the project’s next phases will be built. CEO Emanuel Proença described it as “another step in the development of the Barroso lithium project” and “a perfectly natural process in the development of any industrial project,” adding that the company would contact all affected landowners to arrange compensation.
For the Union in Defence of Covas do Barroso, the decision represents another blow in a long campaign against a project they argue threatens their territory, their livelihoods and their legal rights. The group noted that the project involves four open-pit mines, daily water consumption of approximately one million litres, the use of explosives and a 140-metre-high toxic tailings dam. It also recalled that the Portuguese Public Prosecutor’s Office issued an opinion suggesting that the project’s Environmental Impact Statement should be annulled due to legal violations in the public participation process — a view the government has not acted upon. The state’s earlier decision to grant €110 million in public funding to the project drew particular criticism from the group, which described it as a perversion of the public interest in favour of a private company operating on contested land.
The first administrative easement, granted in 2024, was temporarily halted by a court injunction obtained by villagers, who reported forced entries onto unauthorised areas and the presence of private security guards in the village during early survey work. Whether the community will mount a similar legal challenge to the new easement has not yet been confirmed.
The project has received a favourable environmental impact declaration from Portugal’s state environment agency APA, subject to a number of conditions, giving it formal regulatory approval despite sustained local opposition. Savannah, which holds confirmed resources at Barroso of over 39 million metric tonnes — the largest lithium deposit in Europe — is targeting a final investment decision by the end of the year with construction planned for 2027 and first production in 2028.
