Opponents of the Barroso lithium mine in Boticas, mounted a new blockade today, stressing they will not give up in their fight to thwart British-based mining company Savannah Resources.
Early this morning, around 30 locals once again blocked geotechnical work being carried out on an area of common land which forms part of the controversial administrative easement granted the company by the government.
The group positioned itself in front of one of the work machines and then moved onto the forest track, where more people joined them throughout the morning.
Contacted by Lusa news agency, a spokesperson for Savannah stated that no work was scheduled for the site today, but that work on “all other fronts continues”.
Among the protesters were landowners whose land is covered by the second administrative easement, authorised by the Ministry of the Environment in May.
Armando Gonçalves, 72, said he has “quite a large area” under the easement, where he grazes his flock of sheep and planted pine trees after a fire 16 years ago that left everything blackened.
“It was one act of destruction, and now we’re witnessing another. That first act of destruction at least left us with our home, at least left us with our village. This next act of destruction that’s looming is intended to drive us away from here for good,” he said.
A resident of the nearby village of Romaínho, Gonçalves continues to take his sheep to the marshland, but noted that he has stopped farming there as the spring has already dried up.
The septuagenarian explained that he joined the protest to fight “for the present and the future” of these communities and their neighbours.
“Because this won’t just affect; it won’t just destroy the parish of Covas. If this (mine) goes ahead, the parish of Covas will disappear, but our neighbouring municipalities will all be affected because the dust travels a long way and the river flows out to sea, and the river will be completely contaminated,” he stressed.
Maria Loureiro, a58, is also from Romaínho, and this is already the second time her land has been included in the administrative easement.
“It’s a bit of land, marshes and olive groves,” she explained, saying she opposes the mine because she was born and raised here and loves farming and her work.
“I want to preserve my land, my way of life. My parents left it to me, and I want to leave it to my children and grandchildren. I want to get involved and safeguard the future for all of us, the good things we have: this landscape, this forest, the marshes and the springs; pure water; and the peace and quiet we used to have, which we no longer have today. So I want to fight for the good things we used to have and would like to continue to have,” she told Lusa.
José Fernandes, aged 71, lives in the village of Muro and also owns land within the area included in the administrative easement, where he has over 500 eucalyptus trees and firewood which, he said, was enough for himself and his children – who gave up on building a house in the village because of the plans for the open-pit mine.
Fernandes has joined the protest because the future is so uncertain: “Many people from Ribeira de Pena, Cabeceiras, Mondim and further down the line don’t think about how this will harm the water they drink – that it will all come out of here poisoned – otherwise they might be here by our side helping us, but they haven’t realised that yet. By the time they do, it will be too late,” he lamented.
Once the mine opens, “it will be too late (…) there will be nothing left to shut it down. That’s why we must fight whilst we can, but it’s not easy,” he conceded: these are often elderly people, at a point in their lives where all they had hoped was to be left in peace.
Nélson Gomes, president of the Association United in Defence of Covas do Barroso (UDCB), reiterated his constant warnings that blockades will continue “for as long as necessary”.
On October 9, the association halted the company’s operations, with the GNR identifying 27 protesters. Today, the GNR was not on site.
“At a time when there is so much talk about housing, it is precisely our home that is at risk; it is our home because, with a mine on our doorstep, we run the risk of one day having to leave our homes and being forced to abandon the village – something we do not want,” said Gomes.
In May, the Ministry of the Environment authorised a second administrative easement allowing Savannah to access communal and private land for geotechnical work; this was challenged in court through an interim injunction filed by the Governing Board of the Communal Lands of the Parish of Covas do Barroso, which led to the suspension of prospecting activities for around 20 days.
The Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) gave the mining project the go-ahead by issuing a conditional, favourable Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in 2023.
Savannah Resources intends to begin construction in 2027 and commence initial production in 2028 – but efforts by local people are inching forwards. Only last week, a source for the European Commission suggested the ‘strategic status’ awarded the project may have to be reassessed, due to the way the process was handled.
Source: LUSA