In a press release sent to Lusa agency, the company explained that “sampling will be carried out in the concession area, and operations will take place simultaneously with the carrying out of the Environmental Impact Study (EIA)”.

“As of October, specialised technicians will be on the ground, coordinated by Neomina, to carry out surveys and prepare other complementary studies”.

These activities “are duly authorised by the General Directorate of Energy and Geology (DGEG)” and “complement the prospecting work carried out from 2011 to 2016”.

Neomina also noted that “equally important in this process is to ensure public participation and consultation of all interested parties, favouring dialogue and consensus”.

In addition, the copmany stressed that exploration in Argemela should focus “on the extraction of tin and lithium” and recalled that these are “basic ores for telecommunications (5G), but also for the energy transition, being essential for the development of a more sustainable economy, based on the use of renewable energies (energy storage, for example) as opposed to fossil fuels”.

“The development of this and other projects for the extraction of tin and lithium are of the highest strategic importance for the country, allowing Portugal to become a European reference in the extraction of these ores, currently dominated by China and Australia”.

The process for the mining concession for an exploration of lithium and other minerals in Serra da Argemela, in the municipalities of Covilhã and Fundão, began in 2011.