Four Alto Minho councils have opened a public discussion on classifying the Serra d'Arga as a Regional Protected Landscape. What is proposed, the Natura 2000 rules that already bar new quarries and mines, and how to send a comment.
APA has given conditional approval to the northern route of a new road around Boticas, paid for by Savannah and required by the lithium mine's 2023 approval. Most of the 1,297 public consultation submissions opposed it.
An APA-led committee has given an unfavourable opinion on the Royal China Clay mine at Serra d'El-Rei, citing groundwater risk. It is not the final decision: the promoter can now get up to six months to redesign the project.
Borralha is Portugal's only pick among 46 new Strategic Projects under the Critical Raw Materials Act, which bring faster permits but no automatic money. The council voted against it; the environment agency approved it with conditions.
A Horizon Europe paper from the Centro de Estudos Sociais proposes prospective environmental justice, and files Barroso under what it calls sacrificial logics. Its recommendations for Portugal include no-go criteria for mining in Natura 2000 and world agricultural heritage areas.
The Royal China Clay C-185 concession would work 51.4 hectares of open pit for 20.5 years, 100 metres from the nearest hamlet, for 12 jobs and 11 lorries an hour. Peniche, Óbidos and the parish council all want an unfavourable environmental decision.
Savannah Resources has completed the Definitive Feasibility Study for its Barroso lithium project in Boticas and Montalegre, projecting a 14-year initial mine life, about 500 permanent jobs and roughly €720 million for the Portuguese state. It now turns to financing and construction.
