Belgium, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) Spain is debating energy company Extremadura New Energies’ new proposal for a lithium mine in Cáceres.
The company initially proposed an open-pit mine, against which anti-mine campaigners mobilised the residents in 2017 and forced the company to go back to the drawing board, according to DW reporting on Thursday.
Last year, the company came forward with a new proposal that scraps open-pit mining in favour of an underground mine and additional facilities nearby. Local authorities are still debating the new proposal.
Luis Salaya, Mayor of Cáceres, was critical of the original proposal, but has warmed to the new proposal.
Extremadura New Energies CEO Ramón Jiménez Serrano expressed belief that public opinion is shifting as well.
“When I explained that it is underground, that we’re not going to use sulphuric acid or natural gas, that we are going to heat the process using green hydrogen generated with our own solar energy, that we are going to use water from the sewage treatment plant — people see that the impact has been reduced to the minimum possible and see the possible benefits,” he noted.
In line with the EU’s green push
He stressed the importance of expanding lithium production in the EU, which has higher environmental rules than other parts of the world and is looking for ways to wean itself off imports from China, on which the bloc relies to fuel its green push.
According to European Commission’s estimates, the bloc’s consumption of lithium will increase 18 times by 2030 and additional 60 times by 2050 in order to achieve environmental targets.
Extremadura New Energies expressed hope that the project will be approved and noted that it could start mining in Cáceres as early as 2024.
The company noted that it is eyeing more potential mining sites that are “sustainable and economically viable” in Spain, other parts of Europe and Australia.
While proponents of the proposal note the mine would create jobs and strengthen the economy of Extremadura, Spain’s poorest region, critics have expressed concerns about potential strain on local water supply, contamination of water, particulate air pollution and seismic destabilisation.
Gavin Mudd, professor of environmental engineering at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Melbourne, pointed out that environmental and economic impact of the mine will ultimately depend on its design and running.
