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People often overlook that everything
that was not born or grown was once mined.
It might be an inconvenient truth, but without mining,
there wouldn't be any buildings or bridges.
No railway tracks or fridges.
No smartphones or electric buses.
I think I have a piece.
Yes, let's check.
Our fight against climate change also relies on mining.
Lithium, for example, is a crucial element for batteries
powering electric mobility and stationary energy storage.
Seven percent of lithium oxide.
It's not like Europe lacks lithium in its bedrock.
We have different kinds of lithium in Europe.
Spodumene like this that is very important
and lithium as zinnwaldite in Germany, jadarite in Serbia
and many others.
Is lithium everywhere then?
Yes, Europe could be self-sufficient
in terms of lithium, for sure.
Why don't we have any operational mines in Europe?
Yeah, quite interesting.
They just see the disadvantages, they don't see the advantages.
Climate change is the defining challenge of our time.
To move to a climate-neutral world,
the total demand for critical minerals is projected
to triple between today and 2040.
Of all the critical minerals, lithium
stands out with eight-fold growth.
These critical minerals are vital for wind turbines,
solar panels, batteries and electric vehicles,
along with many other clean
technologies essential for advancing
towards a climate-neutral society.
The International Energy Agency has calculated
that we need 50 new mines for lithium by 2030.
In Europe we have loads of potential,
and yet, in the real world, we still haven't got
any single operational lithium mine in Europe itself.
That is a huge paradox for me.
It is a paradox.
As the race for critical minerals takes center stage
on the global geopolitical agenda,
Europe can no longer afford to remain passive.
US President Trump enforced
a “critical minerals for security” deal with Ukraine,
while also eyeing Greenland's untapped resources.
Meanwhile, China holds significant stakes
in the Democratic Republic of Congo
and continues to dominate the lithium market.
Although Australia and Chile may possess
larger lithium reserves than China,
the Chinese have secured almost 60 percent
of the global lithium refining capacity
and 75 percent of global battery production.
To avoid sleepwalking into the
abyss, Europe's time to act is now.
This map corroborates the huge
potential for lithium mining in Europe.
We have deposits spread from Portugal right up to Finland.
If you look at the size of the deposits,
two of the crucial ones are here in Serbia,
and there in Portugal.
Both of these mines face quite a lot of opposition,
local opposition and even national opposition.
Mining is needed, but not always wanted.
Take Portugal, for example.
A number of locals in Covas do Barroso
have voiced strong concerns about
lithium extraction in their region.
In Serbia, an EU candidate member state,
protests have been elevated from the local to the national level.
Many Serbs argue
that the mine will destroy their environment and agriculture.
It just shows that Europe's climate targets
often conflict with local or national demands
for environmental and cultural preservation.
Doctor Peter Tom Jones wants to dig
deeper into this lithium paradox.
That's why he's travelling
to the Barroso region in the north of Portugal,
where one of the largest lithium deposits in Europe is situated.
Hello, good evening.
Please.
Jones is the director
of the KU Leuven Institute for Sustainable Metals and Minerals
in Belgium,
an internationally renowned interdisciplinary institute
recognized for its expertise in lithium.
This is a copy of the five-liter one, it's just a bigger version.
Beyond his academic work,
Jones has spent over 30 years passionately advocating
for a just transition to a climate-neutral society.
However, he has come to recognize
that this transition inevitably requires
the extraction of critical metals.
This raises an essential question.
Can mining be conducted responsibly
and can Europe lead the way as a global pioneer?
The problem is that mining has such
a bad reputation all over the world,
and yet in Europe, we can do it in a different way.
We can do it in an ESG-friendly way.
That's what I want to find out, to see
how it can be done in a better way.
The first stop on his journey is Boticas,
where the headquarters of Savannah Resources are situated.
Savannah is a British mining company
listed on the London Stock Exchange.
This junior company has one mining project in its portfolio,
the controversial Barroso Lithium Project.
If all goes according to plan,
the first of four open pit mines
will commence operations in 2027.
The project is going to have four pits,
and this is just a representation
of the timeline of the project.
We are going to operate four pits in sequence.
One by one, and as we open a new
one, we backfill the previous one.
In the model, the location of the
first one would be right here.
Then we work on this one.
Then we would come to this one, and
then finally to this pit right here.
As you can see, two of the pits here are already rehabilitated.
The trend in mining is to go
underground towards invisible mines,
so why did you go for open pits?
From a technical perspective, the resource is on the surface,
so it doesn't warrant an underground mine here.
Okay, but I do see villages
which are relatively close by this open pit in particular.
I guess they're worried about dust,
noise, vibrations, and water issues.
How do you deal with those complaints?
We've already identified
and mapped out a lot of the concerns from the population,
and you mentioned a few of them.
Of course, we have mitigation measures
in place to manage and mitigate
and minimize all of those negative
aspects or negative impacts,
whether it's sound, dust, or air quality, for example.
We need to see it before we can believe it,
so let's go to this place and speak to the people.
The mining activities would occur in the Barroso region,
an area renowned for its strong cultural identity
and recognized as World Agricultural Heritage.
Despite its agricultural significance,
the region also has a long tradition of mining.
This region is the tip
of a protected area recognized for its agricultural heritage,
and what's being recognized is the
traditional agricultural practices.
The resistance will say that you'll
be destroying that way of life.
Those who protest the project claim that there's a risk
that they're going to lose that recognition
but it's interesting to know that that classification,
that recognition was granted in 2018
with already a series of mining projects
in the protected area.
It's not at all incompatible,
besides the fact that we're going to be occupying
a very, very small portion of that area.
While driving to Covas do Barroso,
Peter Tom Jones and Thomas Gaultier pass
through numerous semi-deserted villages.
The younger generation of Portugal has
left the northern part of the country
to pursue education in coastal cities or abroad,
and they have not returned due to the lack of jobs.
You reckon the mine will provide new
economic developments here, then?
It's definitely going to create a
stimulation of the local economy.
With more people coming,
you're going to have more need for restaurants,
more need for small grocery stores,
and that's going to create stimulation.
These mine workers, they will come
and live in these houses again then?
They might if the owners are ready to rent out their house
to the mining community, to the mining workers.
Yes, absolutely.
It's an absolutely gorgeous place to live, anyway.
In my opinion, the nicest viewpoint in the area.
Here we see the beautiful valleys,
so where will your pits come?
There are four pits.
The main pit will be in the second
valley down in that direction,
closer to the little village of Romainho,
which is 580 meters from our biggest pit.
Will they see the pit?
They're going to see the pit to some extent,
especially at the top levels of the pit.
They're also going to see some of the waste rock storage
that's going to be there,
but it's going to be quite hidden in the vegetation
and in the structure of the landscape.
What's the reaction of the people there?
Some are not very happy.
This is where the main voices of protest come from,
from Romainho and Covas do Barroso.
When I hear Covas do Barroso,
I think about the resistance I see
in all these newspaper articles.
This is where it comes from,
because people are concerned and people are afraid,
and that's what makes the work worthwhile.
I want to go and speak to these people.
Do you think they will be willing to speak to me?
I'm sure they're going to be willing
to engage and share their views
and their position on this project
because it affects them and it's normal.
Can I expect a friendly encounter?
My experience is that it's always friendly,
if not passionate encounters.
Finnish researcher, Toni Eerola, is
accompanying Jones on this journey.
As a social geologist,
Eerola is investigating local resistance to the mining
of energy-transition metals in Europe.
His proficiency in Portuguese proves particularly useful.
We’re making a documentary.
Stop filming! Okay?
If you will use this, I have a recording too.
However, the meeting
with the local opposition highlights
the deep distrust against the project.
I speak portuguese. You can talk to me.
We know exactly what you are doing and
what is the intention of this work.
That's why it's not welcomed.
It's disrespectful to a community that is struggling,
because of a company of thieves and liars.
And you come here to collude with them.
We've already been screwed
a lot of times and we don't accept people like you.
That's why I advise you to leave.
Don’t challenge me or you’re going to get it.
The researchers are prevented from freely engaging
with other local residents in Covas do Barroso,
making it impossible
to accurately gauge public sentiment
regarding the lithium mining project.
What is clear is that the project is highly sensitive,
with some locals feeling that
their livelihoods are under threat.
Tony, I was not expecting this kind of hostility.
How do you explain that?
Yes, I was a little bit surprised also
but anyway, we can expect anything
in these kinds of situations.
The emotions were really tough?
Yes, and that happens in activism.
The emotions, they are a part of activism, a strong part of that.
They are really convinced that lithium is a bad thing.
They do not see this as part of a cleantech transition
to climate neutrality?
Yes, it seems to be an absolute view.
The problem is that the mine
would be close to that community,
but then they refuse to recognize
the green energy transition.
They don't believe in that.
There's also a deliberate attempt not to engage with us,
and not to give their opinion?
They spoke a lot with us, but not in front of cameras.
They don't accept it and refuse totally to do that.
You see a lack of trust even in scientists like us.
Journalists, government,
researchers, it's kind of systematic.
If they don't trust us,
what about the company that is trying to do this?
That's the worst-case scenario for them to trust a company
that intends to mine on their lands.
Do you think the community engagement strategy
of the company can work in such circumstances?
Not with these people, probably,
but for the rest of the community, I
think that it's worth trying to do that.
Yes, we have work to do.
In this historic church in Mechelen in Belgium,
Jones seeks to find common ground between civil society,
academia, public authorities, and the mining industry.
We'll now kick off with the SLO panel event
on responsible mining in Europe.
The responsible mining model aims to
transcend past questionable practices,
focusing on minimizing environmental harm,
ensuring fair labor conditions
and involving local communities as real beneficiaries.
Jones challenges the industry to prove its commitment
to this transformation.
This is a major question that
the Serbian opposition is posing.
How can any company that goes
for such a project outside of the European Union
take along the very strict ESG standards it has to follow
within the European Union?
However, the Social License to Operate concept
also faces criticism.
Here, the protesters highlight the
right to say no and stay silent,
letting their banners about
Portugal and Serbia do the talking.
It's a paradox.
Civil society grapples with the challenge
of balancing local community rights
and environmental preservation with the need to mine metals,
which are essential for the transition
to a climate-neutral economy.
However, not all environmental organizations
are opposed to metal mining.
That's a topic addressed by Julia Poliscanova,
a prominent figure at Transport and Environment.
There you go.
It's a coalition of over 60 environmental NGOs
across Europe.
While she acknowledges the concerns
surrounding the global mining industry,
she also recognizes the necessity
of lithium mining in Europe.
You can have different kinds of environmentalism, right?
You have organizations that are
anti and that operate by protest,
and you have environmental
organizations that rely on evidence,
for example, we as T&E, but also rely very much on engaging.
We engage with politicians, we engage with companies
to raise the standards of mining but understand,
and we understand that we still will
need a lot more critical minerals
for technologies like batteries and wind turbines.
You're trying to be constructive in your environmentalism.
We are constructive in the way we approach things,
but not scared to call companies out.
When something's not done right, we say so.
However, we understand that only by working together
can we build this resilient supply chain in Europe.
Still, many environmental activists
simply don't trust these mining companies.
They don't trust them, and sometimes
they also have a good reason not to.
Historically, we have a lot of evidence of corruption,
of mismanagement, dirty rivers, dangerous chemicals, et cetera.
There's also a responsibility for the mining companies
to break with the past and do things differently.
Before we delve into the necessary
changes in the mining industry,
we should also reflect on our choices as consumers.
Do we really need to buy an oversized electric SUV
every four years?
Perhaps it's time to rethink our economic model,
one that promotes circularity through ecodesign,
thereby reducing our dependence on mining.
Instead of mining more lithium, we just need to consume less.
Whether we all use electric cars or we go by electric bus
or even by train, we will still need critical minerals.
We'll need them for steel to make your rail tracks.
for example, or lithium to build that bigger battery for a bus.
We will still need a lot of those minerals,
but how much more depends on the various choices that we make.
T&E has always been in favor of a modal shift,
so how far can that take us?
We have looked at it a lot as T&E.
We see that, for example,
if more people took a smaller electric vehicle
as opposed to a large SUV,
we would need to mine a quarter less cumulatively
of lithium and nickel by 2050.
That's a lot of mines we don't have to build.
This primary demand can be
further reduced by recycling more?
Recycling or broader circularity is also critical.
Generally, I hope that we in the world move away
from this linear kind of
extractive model that we have today
and go to a more circular loop.
We mine lithium and nickel once,
but then we can constantly recycle it
in a loop to produce new batteries.
How far can we jump today with recycled lithium?
One of the key players is Umicore.
This multinational corporation, headquartered in Belgium,
has developed an innovative new
technique for recycling batteries.
Something very special is going to happen today, I understand.
Yes, it's the very first time we're ever allowing a film crew
inside the battery smelter.
Is it because it's a secret process?
It's unique, and it's a wonderful process.
However, it remains a pilot plant today
as the volumes are insufficient to be profitable.
Here we can say a final goodbye to the battery.
It's the funeral of the batteries.
Yes, it's the end of their productive life,
but it's the start of a new life.
Which type of batteries go into the smelter?
We can take a high variety of batteries.
We take batteries from the early-generation EVs
that are now becoming end of life, not used anymore.
We also take quite a bit of cells
that have quality issues during manufacturing.
This is a proper industrial pilot.
How much feed do you need
to have a really commercially-viable
industrial factory?
We operate at a capacity of 7,000 tons per year,
which is equivalent to roughly 20,000 EV batteries.
Our ambition is to scale up with capacities
that are 10 or 20 times bigger.
When will those volumes be available?
We believe that in the next decade, in the 2030s
that the end-of-life market will pick up
and we have a role to play with such an installation.
What's very important is that the
volumes that will be on the market
then will also be available to us as recyclers
because today a majority of
these volumes are leaving Europe.
You're saying that they are leaving Europe?
They are leaving Europe
because Asian players are much more competitive to take them,
and Europe still needs to invest
in higher-capacity installations with lower costs.
People are hesitating to put on these investments
because we lack a clear, coherent policy to support them.
The European Union still has a lot of work to do.
We're appealing very strongly to policymakers in Europe
to make it happen,
and not just in a few years from now, the time to act is now.
It's time to visit the smelter with
a camera crew and a flying drone,
the first time ever.
What are we seeing here now? What's happening?
When the batteries touch the molten bath inside this furnace,
something truly magical happens.
In a matter of seconds,
the critical raw materials, lithium,
nickel, cobalt are liberated
from their original compounds,
and they're pushed into separate,
high quality products, actually.
Nickel, cobalt will be collected in the alloy,
which is now tapped into the pot.
Then lithium is pushed into the gaseous state
and we capture it as a salt basically
in the flue dust off-gas system.
What are the main advantages here, then?
The main advantages are that it's safe by design.
We don't need to open up any battery.
It's super efficient, high yield of the critical raw materials,
and it's most sustainable.
Low carbon footprint, less waste, less chemicals.
Is this a really world-unique process?
Absolutely.
This is a process that's invented
and developed here in the center of Europe.
Do you think the Chinese want to copy this process?
We know that they want to copy it.
They are very interested to learn about this technology.
We have Chinese customers as well,
so we're in touch with them, anyway.
All great news, but in China,
new, more affordable types of batteries are emerging.
The so-called LFP batteries or lithium-iron-phosphate,
which do not contain cobalt or nickel.
If this battery becomes the new standard,
current recycling technologies could face significant pressure.
- Oh, here we have it. - Yes.
Look at this, this is the white gold.
This is industrially produced
Technical-grade lithium carbonate.
It's fully recycled.
Fully from spent batteries.
Is that a solution for our lithium supply?
We will need mining for the foreseeable future,
but recycling is a key addition, a key strategic component
for Europe to be more independent and more sustainable
for its future mobility.
So, you can't recycle your way out of the fossil-fuel economy?
You have to first produce them and then recycle them.
Even with a major modal shift in transportation
and a significant boost in lithium-ion battery recycling,
some primary lithium mining will still be necessary
to achieve a climate-neutral economy.
This aligns with the EU's Critical Raw Materials Act,
which sets ambitious targets.
At least 10 percent of lithium is sourced from domestic mining,
40 percent refined within the EU,
and 25 percent recycled domestically.
In the European Parliament,
Jones meets German MEP Hildegard Bentele,
who has played a pivotal role in shaping
and refining the Critical Raw Materials Act,
where lithium remains a central focus.
How important is the lithium supply chain for Europe?
It is very important
because we are super dependent currently
from one supplier, which is China.
We have to face the situation that
the supply chain is interrupted.
China could hit us hard by stopping
lithium imports from China.
We want to prepare for this situation.
That means domestic mining and refining in Europe.
So that we have a current inflow of
potential battery production in Europe.
Still, there is so much opposition.
There's a lot of hypocrisy in it because
if they saw the conditions under which
lithium is mined in China or in other places in the world,
the standards are much lower.
Actually, they are blocking high-standard lithium mining.
For the purpose, what they want,
which is to have cleaner transport,
a cleaner environment.
This is what we are aiming for.
They also do not see that we have high tech in mining.
Jones witnessed first-hand how mining
in the Nordic countries is conducted more responsibly,
and has evolved into a highly advanced industry,
featuring electric trucks and autonomous vehicles
powered by green electricity.
Moreover, mining at depths
beyond 1,000 meters underground bears little resemblance
to the hazardous and polluting coal mining of the past.
What's happening here?
The sector has undergone a
remarkable digital transformation.
This is where we load
and work with the hydraulic stone knockers using joysticks,
Xbox and PlayStation controllers.
PlayStation at 1,400 meters depth?
Yes.
Perhaps this explains
why the Keliber lithium mining and refining project
in the Kaustinen region in Finland
faces so little opposition.
The company plans to begin mining in 2026.
A similar situation exists in central France,
where Imerys aims to expand its existing kaolinite mine
into an underground lepidolite lithium operation.
Opposition to this project remains minimal.
Both of these projects were granted
the Strategic Project status
by the EU in March 2025.
Despite the protests, the Mina do Barroso project in Portugal
has also been labelled a Strategic Project.
We are seeing a lot of deindustrialization in Europe.
Can this lithium supply chain counteract that?
Yes, it can, because we have seen that the mining sector,
which was in decline,
with these kind of projects, can be revived
and can be made into a new ecosystem.
It's not only mining, it's processing,
it's refining, it's recycling.
We have the chance to establish a completely new ecosystem,
which is future-proven, but if we do not act now to revive it,
soon, it will really be in decline
and will go away from Europe.
The European Union is expanding its search
for lithium outside of its own borders.
It has signed a strategic partnership with Serbia,
home to Europe's largest and most valuable lithium deposit,
a resource capable of supplying
batteries for one million electric cars
or 200,000 electric buses annually.
However, the planned lithium mine
in Serbia's fertile Jadar Valley has sparked massive protests.
What started as local opposition
rapidly grew into a nationwide movement.
Shifting from Not In My Backyard to Not In My Country.
Rio Tinto, get out of Serbia!
Get out of Serbia!
The contested British Australian mining company, Rio Tinto,
which intends to invest 2.3 billion Euros
in this major underground lithium operation,
is facing unprecedented resistance.
The ore found in the region, known as jadarite,
was officially classified as a new mineral in 2004.
It's here, we see examples of
the drill cores and the jadarite.
If you look at this core,
the white dots that you see here are the jadarite.
Compared to other lithium ores present in Europe,
such as spodumene in Portugal, Spain, and Finland,
lepidolite in France,
or zinnwaldite in Germany and the Czech Republic,
jadarite is easier to process.
It does not require energy-intensive
thermal pretreatment
or extremely harsh chemical conditions.
From a purely environmental perspective,
jadarite processing would not pose more but fewer risks,
according to metallurgical experts.
Here we see the valley.
The now-famous Jadar Valley.
From here, you can see where we intend, if everything goes well,
to build the Jadar project.
If you look at that line and maybe I can explain it here,
we are talking about a surface area
of 220 hectares above ground.
- No, that's not big. - It's not big?
If you think about, for example,
the Kolubara mine in another part of Serbia,
which is an open-pit mine, that's 60,000 hectares.
- You must be joking. - No.
That's just the footprint you see on top.
Yes.
That's the benefit you get from an underground mine.
If you look at this picture,
imagine that this is that area here.
The mine is underground, you don't see it, you see only...
- It's an invisible mine. - Yes, exactly.
It's an invisible mine, which is completely underground.
Everything around the mine remains the same.
It is a very modern mine that will
be operated from a control room.
Everything will be controlled electronically.
When you think about Jadar,
the area that maybe people will see from this point,
if Jadar is built, is rather small.
Everything around the area and around the fence
will continue to be the way it is
because we will make sure that the
farming exists exactly the same.
There is no land subsidence.
Still, there are so many protests.
Yes, there are protests.
Unfortunately, the narrative has been based on disinformation,
and what we are struggling with is
actually to see a fact-based dialogue
and discussion about the merits of this project.
During the interview, members of the local resistance group,
Ne Damo Jadar keep passing by,
filming the Serbian head of Rio Tinto
while making their feelings clear.
You are wasting your time it is useless what you are doing.
There is nothing for you here, this is our living space.
We will defend this with our lives.
If you want blood to flow, you can get it.
Why are these local farmers
so vehemently opposed to the Jadar project?
Ne Damo Jadar, meaning we Won't Give Up Jadar,
is unwavering in its resistance against Rio Tinto,
and it's clear that they will not back down.
What is your main concern with
this lithium project by Rio Tinto?
There is no concern, there will be no mine.
Our job is to gather as many people as possible
to bring 200,000 people out in the
streets and they will have to leave.
The president wants the mining project to happen.
The president wants the mine to be opened
because he is the key lobbyist for Rio Tinto.
Are you afraid of environmental
pollution? Is that the main cause?
If the mine comes, there would be no life here.
Isn't it sad that you have these huge
lithium resources in this country,
and you can't use them to become rich in this country?
Europe would get rich.
They would get lithium batteries and a healthy environment.
They would be the ones driving around in the electric vehicles,
and Serbia would become Europe’s landfill,
and we would suffer from various diseases like cancer.
It's striking to see the lengths to
which Ne Damo Jadar is prepared to go
to halt the lithium mine.
We are ready to sacrifice our lives
in the fight against Rio Tinto.
What do you mean by sacrificing your own life?
We will lie down in front of the excavators.
We will burn them and do whatever it takes.
Rio Tinto get out of Serbia.
In Serbia, the local protest
by Ne Damo Jadar has grown into a massive national movement,
attracting a diverse array of
opponents against the mining project.
Is it possible that behind these
doors people sit who are only focused
on their mandate?
The opposition is remarkably diverse.
Local farmers, urban
environmentalists, Belgrade scientists
and Serbian nationalists all united against the project.
In Belgrade, Jones meets
anthropologist Jelena Vasiljevic,
who may shed some light on why so many Serbs oppose the mine.
How do you explain these complex,
massive protests here in Belgrade?
Part of it is that it's against the mining of lithium.
Part of it has to do with that and with different arguments
about why the Jadar project is complicated.
The complex part of it has to do with the dissatisfaction
with this political regime
and how this whole process has been conducted
in non-transparent and non-democratic ways.
Many grievances are actually being articulated
in this protest.
The lack of trust in the government here is very loud.
It's very clear.
Where is it coming from?
We also have bad experiences with previous projects.
We had many other projects that
were declared of national interest,
and they were all conducted
in non-transparent and non-democratic ways.
If Rio Tinto were a Serbian company,
do you think the project would have been okay?
Partially it has to do with the bad history of Rio Tinto.
That is true, it's not only about the economy.
It's not only about how you use sustainable raw materials.
It's what you politically do with it.
This is why people are distrustful
and I would say they are right.
Anthropologist Jelena Vasiljevic attributes the growing unrest
to the current regime,
which, according to her and many protesters,
is sliding towards autocracy under President Vučić.
This is evident in the harsh
suppression of protests in Belgrade
and the unlawful arrests of many activists.
The movement continues to gain momentum
with the support of thousands of Serbian students.
The Jadar lithium project has become deeply intertwined
with the political opposition to Vučić.
Should there be a referendum on this project?
No, a referendum, I don't think it's a good idea
because a referendum is always
dependent on how you frame the question.
Then you get the Brexit discussions.
Not only that, the political climate then takes a lot.
The political climate is important
and you also have to have an informed public.
How can you have a referendum
when citizens aren't informed enough?
Now they're staging something that looks like an open debate,
even though we know that everything is already done.
We needed to be more prepared for that.
Is the deep distrust in Rio Tinto's lithium project
based on genuine concerns,
or is it also fuelled by disinformation,
allegedly spread to serve political goals
such as ousting President Vučić's autocratic regime?
Rio Tinto claims that fake news plays a significant role.
At their information center in Loznica,
they've even set up a fake-news wall.
You see a lot of photos of open-pit mines.
We know this is an underground mine,
and it will not look like that.
You see the explosions, which are connected to the open pits,
and how people are scared.
Here you have information
that we will use sulphuric acid
at 250 degrees, which is not true.
We're using it at 90 degrees as anyone can see
from the information publicly available.
That we will destroy the water sources for 85 million people,
which is underground in Jadar.
It is very easy to say something like you will burn the skin
and lungs of people because you will have sulfuric rains,
which is completely not true, but explaining the technology
and how you use the sulfuric acid takes time.
It's easy to throw the mud at someone,
but it's difficult to clean the shirt again.
It takes much longer, it's the Second Law of Thermodynamics.
What do you then do about this? What is your strategy?
The first thing is that we plan community meetings
to meet with the community face-to-face.
We've met more than 3,000 people so far in the past year,
and we've committed to radical transparency.
That is, we put all the information on our web page,
respond to all media inquiries, and
rebut everything that's fake news.
Misinformation, disinformation,
and the lack of trust are also issues
Savannah claims to be struggling with.
In Portugal, lithium is often perceived as toxic
despite ongoing lithium mining in the region,
albeit not for battery production.
Okay, so this is the NOA pit,
which is currently being operated
for the purpose of extracting lithium
and quartz and feldspar for the ceramics industry right now.
Basically, there is already lithium mining.
Exactly, there is lithium mining happening right in front of us.
Why do people think it's toxic, then?
It's issues of perception.
It's issues of perception because people don't understand
what lithium is.
They don't understand how it's transformed
to become a battery, for example.
They're very much unaware
of the fact that they're in contact
with lithium on a daily basis.
If we look at a ceramic cup, people drink coffee,
every day they put lithium to their lips.
The rock that's used to make this
ceramic could have come from this mine.
That's one of the major challenges that we have
in our engagement with the community.
It's trying to clarify any misunderstandings,
using facts in order to explain exactly what you just said.
There's already lithium being mined
here and in other parts of Portugal,
and it's not different from what we're going to be doing,
except we're going to be doing it at a larger scale.
Fighting feelings with facts is not an easy method.
It's not easy.
As long as we keep giving facts and
we build trust with the communities,
those feelings are going to
become feelings of understanding,
acknowledgment, and hopefully acceptance one day.
Building trust with local communities
remains a significant challenge
in Portugal.
In Dornelas, another nearby civil parish
where the mine is set to be developed,
residents can speak more freely than in Covas do Barroso,
allowing Jones to hear a wider range of perspectives.
Do you think this project is an opportunity for the villages?
I am not against it, I can't see that
it would bring something bad here.
When things come here we're probably already gone.
Okay, thanks.
It will affect the life in the villages,
and it will have impact on our water.
They will probably need our water.
We are trying to minimize the water use.
This is what we are doing for our food, animals, everything.
What is the opinion here in Dornelas,
is the majority for or against?
It varies, there are people
against and in favor of the mine,
but I think that here in
Dornelas, and the Dornelas parish,
there is a part which is in favor of
it, and the majority is in favor of it.
I don't know about the rest of the
people because many are also against it.
We live in a region with a rich mining past.
What are your major concerns about this project?
My major concerns are with water tables.
That concerns me a lot.
- Water? - Yes.
In southern European countries like Portugal,
water usage is a major concern.
With frequent forest fires,
locals worry if there will be enough water left
for agriculture.
One of the main concerns I hear all the time
is that you're going to use so much water,
and this region doesn't have any water.
Actually this region has a lot of water.
It rains a lot in this region,
and rain is where we're going to be
collecting our water for this mine.
We won't collect water from the river,
and we're not going to be ejecting
any kind of water into the river.
We're going to be using rainwater
through water retention systems
over here, over here, and over here, to collect the rainwater,
which will be used to supply the mine.
Will you then recycle the water once it's in the system?
Absolutely, it's going to be working in a closed circuit
where 85 percent of the water used will
be recycled and reused into the mine.
Why are you losing 15 percent then?
15 percent is lost through evaporation,
and is also lost through the humidity of the material
that's transported out of the mine.
With the urgent need to mitigate climate change,
the mining industry has been given
a crucial role in human history.
However, to avoid repeating past mistakes,
continuous dialogue with local communities
and civil society is essential.
A future mine?
No, thank you!
In the Barroso region,
such a dialogue has been challenging so far,
but things are starting to change.
Early 2025, a new association,
Associação Futuro do Barroso has been founded.
This association, which also includes members
from the Covas do Barroso village itself,
does not take a position for or against the project.
Instead, the organization is dedicated to fostering dialogue
and collaborative solutions towards
a responsible mining project.
We know and are aware
that lithium mining will bring some difficulties
and problems to the municipality. But we must know
how to transfer these difficulties into
great opportunities for development.
In Serbia, skepticism and distrust still prevail.
However, there may be a solution to
overcoming Serbia's lithium paradox.
In countries where trust in the government is low,
involving a third-party auditor could be a crucial step forward.
I believe they already do so
because I think if you do want to produce any of your reports
for environmental impact assessment, for example,
you need to have third-party assessments.
I do think it would be very helpful to engage with IRMA,
the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance,
and to undergo a self-audit.
Following that, a proper audit
because it would really show to the global NGO community,
first of all, transparently, how they're doing things
and secondly, that they are trying to do things better.
IRMA has developed comprehensive
standards for responsible mining.
These standards address key
areas such as business integrity,
environmental stewardship, social responsibility,
and community engagement.
They were created in collaboration
with civil society organizations,
workers, environmental groups and industry experts.
IRMA could build up trust in that way?
IRMA can help with the global community
to show that their intentions
are going in the right direction.
If the EU wants to evolve to mining practices
that are genuinely supported by the public,
IRMA could serve as a key source of inspiration for an improved
rather than weakened legislative framework for mining in Europe.
For Professor Lima from the University of Porto,
the situation is clear.
Mining could give Portugal and Europe a well-needed boost
in a rapidly changing geopolitical world.
He hopes NIMBY can be gradually replaced by PIMBY,
from Not In My Backyard to Please In My Backyard.
To mine or not to mine,
that is now the question for the Portuguese people.
As you said, yes, we have the best resources in spodumene,
and spodumene is being mined for
50 years for the lithium industry.
- It's proven technology. - It's a proven technology.
It's something that works, really,
and it's an opportunity for Portugal
to take advantage of these resources
to try to do the lithium value
chain from mining to the refinery
and then we have a very nice automobile industry in Portugal.
Lithium has the power
to bring the Portuguese back to this country.
These villages that we were seeing,
when I started to work here, they had many more people.
Their population is now decreasing.
I see this not as a threat, but as an opportunity
to bring some people to these
areas, to live here with families,
to work here in industry.
It's an opportunity.
Portugal is now at a crossroads,
you go either left or you go right.
Do you think it will happen?
I believe that in some of the places it will happen
because the people will understand
that the advantages are more than the disadvantages.
Of course, mining has disadvantages,
but it can bring a lot of advantages.
It's what we need to communicate to local people.
With the EU backing multiple
strategic lithium mining projects,
Europe seems to mean business but
mining alone won't solve the problem.
Without refining capacity,
Europe remains dependent on third countries like China.
Right now lithium refining is almost non-existent
across the continent, but things are changing.
Germany has recently opened a small semi-refinery,
while the Finnish company, Metso,
is developing innovative, cleaner technologies
to refine lithium from spodumene.
Here we have the spodumene,
a heat-treated spodumene sample from Finland.
It could be the same as the Portuguese material.
Yes, absolutely.
This offers an
environmentally-friendly alternative
to China's dominant lithium processing method.
Is it unique for Europe or for the world?
Yes, in many ways.
I would say that this is Europe's best pilot plant.
Probably the best pilot plant.
Probably the best pilot plant, yes.
It's still a pilot plant,
but the potential of this technology is immense,
and the timing couldn't be more crucial with China's grip
on global lithium refining
showing no signs of slowing down.
Here we see your pilot reactor, how big will the real stuff be?
It will be about 1,000 times bigger.
- A thousand times bigger. - Yes.
What makes this process so superior
to the conventional Chinese process?
There are actually two things, it's the waste generation.
Generally, it's very low and then water consumption is low
because we are recycling all the water in the process.
Is this then the European way to solve the problems?
Absolutely.
This is a game-changing technology
in lithium hydroxide production.
Since we are not producing any
harmful waste, it can be all recycled.
We are not producing sodium sulfate,
which is the issue with the conventional processing.
Then we also recycle all the water.
Practically all the water that we put
in the process is purified and recycled.
Here in this new lithium refining process,
they found the holy grail-type of solution.
Rather than using sulfuric acid as a leaching agent,
which generates the sodium sulfate waste stream,
they work with a very simple product called soda ash.
This soda ash allows you
to get the lithium out of the spodumene concentrate
and provides you with a very clean process,
which is almost zero waste.
That's a huge step forward for
lithium refining in the Western world.
This is the white gold coming out of your process?
Yes, this is the lithium product that
can be used now in electric vehicles.
This is coming out of your pilot plant.
When will we see the real stuff
coming out of an industrial plant?
Yes, there is a Keliber project which
is under construction in Finland,
and it will start up in mid-2025.
That would be the first lithium battery-grade quality
we can produce in Europe.
Yes, that's correct.
In Europe, we definitely need refineries.
At this moment, we don't really have any large-scale refineries.
This is something, we cannot continue like that.
No, I guess this technology
opens up the possibility to do it
in a sustainable manner also.
You will be conquering all of Europe?
At least, yes, and the rest of the world.
To complete a full European mine to EV value chain,
battery and car manufacturers should also be included.
In Serbia, this scenario is unfolding.
Car manufacturer Stellantis plans
to build its electric Grande Panda in Serbia.
Additionally, Serbian battery manufacturer ElevenEs
is prepared to open new battery factories
in the country when the lithium mine is operational.
It means a revolution in economic growth in the country.
Actually, this product you see here is the first LFP battery
made in Europe several years ago.
It's lithium-iron-phosphate,
which actually has lithium carbonate in itself,
which basically connects the whole value chain.
Jadar will produce the lithium carbonate for your batteries?
That's the hope for the future, that we have everything local
and that we basically have the first LFP value chain
outside of Asia, present in Europe.
Since now you are dependent on
China for your lithium carbonate?
That's correct, today everything is basically coming from China
because it's a single market where everything is created
from the raw materials
but it's about to change in the next years.
We have to be smart about it.
If we do the right things,
we will have one of the largest
economic opportunities of our lifetime.
How many jobs are we talking about in Serbia?
We're talking about 20,000 jobs.
Twenty thousand?
20,000 new jobs to be created only
by the battery value chain industry.
Let's not forget, it's supporting
the transition to climate neutrality.
It's absolutely the essence of climate neutrality.
As you know, this will not only be used in cars,
this thing will be used in buses, in
trucks, in construction machinery,
in your home, in storage, in large industrial solar parks.
It's the central item
of the energy storage revolution we're about to face.
How much material do you need to produce one EV battery?
In this kind of quarry,
you need around one meter by one meter,
and then two meters, two cubic meters.
Then it's around six tons of material.
6,000 kilograms of rock for one battery.
One battery.
That is Europe's lithium paradox, we
have it but we don't seem to mine it.
Yes, it's like that.
I think that there was a wrong communication at some point
that people don't understand
that, Europe importing from China,
it's not an obligation, we can do it ourselves in Europe,
from mining to the complete lithium value chain.
The people look at a white rock and they see a problem.
I see this white rock as a solution
for the interior of Portugal.
Clearly, Europe has the technology
to mine, refine, and recycle lithium.
But the clock is ticking.
The Chinese are not holding back in the supply chain.
Climate change is spiralling out of control.
We need to act fast, while at the
same time respect local communities
to be part of this storyline.
We need to make haste slowly.