MINEX Forum

Tag: Portugal lithium

  • Savannah Resources Eyes Euronext or ASX Secondary Listing to Broaden Investor Base as Barroso Lithium Targets 2028 Production

    Savannah Resources Eyes Euronext or ASX Secondary Listing to Broaden Investor Base as Barroso Lithium Targets 2028 Production

    Savannah Resources is pursuing a secondary listing on either Euronext in Lisbon or the Australian Securities Exchange to tap growing investor appetite for battery materials outside the UK market, as the London-listed company advances its Barroso lithium project in northern Portugal toward a feasibility study completion this summer and construction start in 2027.

    CEO Emanuel Proença said the company has seen growing interest from investors who typically access markets through Euronext, where no major lithium spodumene plays are currently listed. “There are no big lithium spodumene plays on Euronext, so that is kind of a new offering,” he said. The ASX remains an established venue for lithium stocks and is also under consideration. The secondary listing would support Savannah’s broader financing strategy, which also includes offtake-related finance alongside the existing offtake agreement with AMG Lithium BV — the company’s largest shareholder.

    Barroso, which received EU strategic project status in 2025, has the potential to become one of Europe’s largest lithium operations, with planned annual output sufficient to supply battery packs for approximately half a million electric vehicles. Production is targeted to begin in late 2028 following a construction phase starting in 2027.

    Savannah is currently negotiating additional offtake agreements beyond the AMG Lithium deal, including with parties in China. Proença noted that initial production volumes would exceed what European markets can absorb in the near term, making broader offtake arrangements necessary. The company has a market capitalisation of approximately £160 million ($210 million).

    Lithium prices have rebounded more than 150% over the past year, supported by the emergence of large-scale battery storage as a demand driver alongside electric vehicles, prompting mine restarts in Australia and renewed financing interest across the sector.

  • UN Committee Rules Portugal Breached Treaty in Barroso Lithium Mine Approval

    UN Committee Rules Portugal Breached Treaty in Barroso Lithium Mine Approval

    Portugal violated international obligations by restricting public access to information during the environmental licensing of Europe’s largest lithium mining project, a UN committee ruled on Wednesday.

    The Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee found that the country’s environmental agency, APA, failed to uphold citizens’ rights to information and participation in the approval process for Savannah Resources’ Barroso project in northern Portugal. The Barroso region, recognized as a World Heritage agricultural site since 2018, has been at the center of a fierce debate between mining interests and local communities.

    In 2023, APA conditionally approved the mine, operated by London-listed Savannah Resources, but residents and environmental groups have continued to resist the project. They argue that the UN ruling reinforces their demand for the license to be revoked.

    According to the committee, APA did not respond to environmental information requests within legal deadlines and, when denying access, failed to inform citizens of their right to appeal. The complaint was lodged in 2021 by Spain’s Montescola Foundation, with two Portuguese groups acting as observers.

    Montescola President Joam Evans welcomed the ruling, saying, “The environmental permit should be revoked.”

    APA defended its actions, stating it had always complied with administrative law and made the required information available, albeit with a “different interpretation” of the convention. Savannah declined to comment.

    The miner has described Barroso’s spodumene deposit as Europe’s largest, with reserves of at least 28 million tonnes of high-grade lithium, and plans to begin production in 2027 to supply the electric vehicle sector.