Dutch miner AMG buys into Portuguese lithium project

AMG Critical Materials NV

20/06/2024 11:34

LISBON, June 20 (Reuters) - Dutch miner AMG  AMG.AS  has
acquired a 15.77% stake in London-based Savannah Resources
 SAVS.L  to become the largest shareholder in the company that
is developing a lithium project in northern Portugal, the
companies said on Thursday.
    Savannah CEO Emanuel Proenca said the 16-million-pound  ($20
million) investment represented a "huge de-risking step",
describing AMG as the "ideal partner" because of its own lithium
business that serves Europe's battery and electric vehicle (EV)
sector.
    The project, which has faced strong opposition from local
residents and environmentalists, is widely seen as a test for
the European Union's ambition to reduce its dependence on
countries such as China for key raw materials.
    Savannah wants to build four open-pit lithium mines in the
Barroso region, extracting enough lithium each year for around
half a million EV batteries. It hopes to start production in
2026.
    AMG and Savannah have also agreed to study the possibility
of building a refinery in Portugal or Spain to turn spodumene
into lithium carbonate.
    AMG said the deal gives it a seat on Savannah's board of
directors and a five-year offtake of 45,000 metric tons per year
of spodumene, a mineral that contains lithium, extendable to
90,000 tons over 10 years.
    ($1 = 0.7872 pounds)

 (Reporting by Catarina Demony;
Editing by Andrei Khalip and Mark Potter)
 ((catarina.demony@thomsonreuters.com; +351 915 616 444
(Twitter: @CatarinaDemony);))