Portuguese communities lock horns with lithium miners to save their land Signs of change already give him sleepless nights. Hundreds of drill holes across the countryside show where miners want to excavate the land for lithium, a vital ingredient for batteries used in electric cars, smartphones and energy storage.
“If my livelihood is taken away from me, I won’t have a future elsewhere,” said 45-year-old Pires, whose village lies in the municipal district of Boticas.
Pires and his idyllic surrounds are on one of the frontlines of a battle pitting companies eager to exploit Portugal’s 60,000 tonnes of known lithium reserves against locals determined to preserve their rights over the land and stop the exploitation.
It puts the minority government in a tight spot at home. Growing opposition to lithium exploration by local groups, which communally own and manage rural areas, could mean miners reach an impasse and seek government support to expropriate land.
I wish the protestors the best of luck. Can anyone else give us more information on what’s happening?
