Latest news with #SavannahResources
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Savanna and the Mountain' depicting Covas do Barroso's fight against lithium premieres in theatres across Portugal
It's a modern real-life tale of David vs Goliath set to music. The activism of the people of the rural community of Covas do Barroso against a British lithium mining giant will be shared on the silver screens across Portugal this week Paulo Carneiro's 'Savannah and the Mountain' centres on the northern mountainous Boticas community in Trás-os-Montes. After winning high praise from critics at Cannes last year where it premiered at the Director's Fortnight section, the film's release has been eagerly anticipated. Its director Paulo Carneiro describes it as a documentary fiction, depicting activism and resistance in the form of a musical western. "The people of Covas do Barroso were poorly represented by a documentary, because we needed to put them into action, we needed to take the struggle out of the office, out of the emails, out of the scientific papers that have to be read and re-read and analysed by specialists, and put the struggle into practice, show the struggle in practice," said Carneiro. The film depicts the northern community's fight for their land after discovering that a British mining giant is planning to build Europe's largest open-pit lithium mine just a few metres from their homes. "We live in one of the most isolated regions of the country, but in 2018 it was recognised as a World Agricultural Heritage Site because of the way we live, the way we work the land, the way we relate to nature," says Aida Fernandes, who is part of the film's cast, as well as the president of the local community of Covas do Barroso. "When we see a project like this on our doorstep, which endangers everything we have, the way we live, we run the risk of having to leave our place... The film portrays exactly that, our pain," she added. The struggle is amplified by the intervention of Carlos Libo's soundtracks and the authenticity that the inhabitants of Covas do Barroso bring to the film. The expectation, in the eyes of Director Paulo Carneiro, is that it will fill cinemas and achieve success nationwide, not just in the major cities.. Portugal has the largest lithium reserves in Europe, with 28 million metric tonnes of high grade lithium. In recent years, Covas do Barroso has been in the news for its people's fight against the advancement of lithium mining by British company, Savannah Resources, which holds a concession there to exploit a total area of 542 hectares. The company is currently prospecting in Covas do Barroso after former Secretary of State for Energy Maria João Pereira eased some of the administrative processes and bureacratic hurdles in December. It is on the basis of the administrative easement map that Savannah Resources pays compensation for the use of the land for a year, the company's CEO, Emanuel Proença, confirmed to Euronews in December last year. At the end of March, the European Union made this exploration one of 47 strategic mining projects at a European level. The argument for betting on lithium, used in the production of batteries for electric cars, is its importance for the energy transition. The residents are refusing to let up the fight. On 14 April, around 25 people gathered in the community in solidarity with a landowner who was allegedly asked by the National Republican Guard to remove a trailer from his land that's preventing Savannah Resources' machines from passing through. The man, Benjamim Gonçalves, was reportedly 'requested' to do so against the backdrop of arrest. Aida Fernandes was one of the people present at this show of strength. Gonçalves, claims that the plot of land in question is not included in Savannah Resources' deal with the government, that authorises the mining company to work on private and public land. Others in the community also support his viewpoint.
Reuters
21-02-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Savannah resumes lithium prospecting as Portugal overturns injunction
LISBON, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Savannah Resources (SAVS.L), opens new tab said on Friday it would immediately resume prospecting works at its lithium project in northern Portugal after the government helped it overturn a precautionary injunction filed by landowners. London-based Savannah sees the Barroso project's deposit of spodumene, a lithium-bearing mineral, as the most significant in Europe, with the latest prospecting results pointing to a larger deposit than the previously estimated 28 million metric tons of high-grade lithium for batteries. The project, which faces opposition from local residents and environmentalists, could be key to the European Union's ambition to reduce dependence on countries such as China for strategic raw materials. The injunction sought to reverse the government's authorisation for the company to access land belonging to others and forced Savannah to suspend prospecting on some land plots at Barroso two weeks ago. Savannah said in a statement the government had filed a "reasoned resolution" citing wider public interest, and that the court had ended up overturning the injunction. The government argued that any postponement of the works "is more costly and seriously detrimental to the public interest", according to Savannah's statement. The company expected to make up for the delay over the remainder of the programme, it added. Barroso is Savannah's only venture. It plans to start commercial output there in 2027 and is working to complete the project's definitive feasibility study and final environmental licensing process in the second half of this year. Get a look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets with the Morning Bid U.S. newsletter. Sign up here.
Reuters
06-02-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Savannah suspends some lithium prospecting in Portugal after injunction
LISBON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - London-based Savannah Resources (SAVS.L), opens new tab has suspended prospecting works at some sites of its lithium project in northern Portugal due to a precautionary injunction filed in a court by some landowners, the company said on Thursday. The injunction only covers land that is not owned by the company. Savannah said in a statement it was notified by the Mirandela Administrative Court of the injunction, which aims to reverse the government's authorisation in December for the company to access land belonging to others to do more prospecting. Advertisement · Scroll to continue Report this ad "We were expecting it and we accepted it as normal ... teams on the ground have already temporarily stopped the work they have been doing for the last two months," it said. The company has said Barroso's spodumene deposit is the most significant in Europe and the latest prospecting results point to a larger deposit than the previously estimated 28 million metric tons of high-grade lithium for batteries. It plans to start commercial output in 2027. It requires around 840 hectares for its four-mine project, but Savannah has just a fraction of that. Private owners hold around 24% of the land needed, while 75% is made up of communal land. Savannah was granted access to over 520 hectares of land, which it does not own, for a year. The project has put the European Union's ambition to reduce dependence on countries such as China for strategic raw materials to the test as it faces opposition from local residents and environmentalists. "With serenity, we will treat this process like the many others already attempted by the same opposition group, and we hope to return to work quickly," Savannah said.
