OUR Portuguese The Environmental Protection Agency (APA) today conditionally approved the operation of the first lithium mine in the country, which has Europe’s largest reserves of the metal, which is critical for battery production and power transmission.

The APA has approved – subject to several conditions – plans by the British company Savannah Resources to continue mining lithium near the village of Botica in northeast Portugal, the agency said in a statement.

The mine plan has been “significantly modified” from the original proposal to “provide environmental safeguards” that include flowing water protection, biodiversity and waste management, among others, APA said.

For her part, Savannah expressed her satisfaction with the decision, stressing that the APA approved the establishment of a lithium mine in Portugal “for the first time”. It was an “important step” towards what could become the largest lithium mine in Western Europe, he said.

In addition to Savannah’s plans for Botikas and Portugal’s Lusorecursos in the less active neighboring Montalegri region, the Portuguese government launched an international tender last year to explore for lithium in six of the country’s provinces.