The British company Savannah Resources has ramped up the development of its lithium project in the Barrosa region of northern Portugal, significantly increasing the confirmed reserves of this strategic metal. According to the company’s estimates, the volumes of spodumene — the lithium-containing mineral — have risen from 28 million tons to over 39 million tons as of September 2025. This has transformed the Barrosa deposit into the largest in Europe among similar sites.
This is reported by Finway
Potential for Further Growth and Strategic Importance
Emmanuel Proença, the CEO of Savannah Resources, notes that the volume of deposits could increase by an additional 35–62 million tons due to further geological studies. This will not only extend the projected lifespan of the mine to over 50 years but also strengthen the EU’s position in the global lithium market. The company emphasizes that recently, all aspects of the project, including engineering studies, compliance with environmental standards, and securing financing for construction, have significantly accelerated.
“In recent months, work has accelerated on all fronts… with each stage of the project, we are increasingly convinced that it can be highly competitive on a global scale, even in challenging market conditions,” said Proença.
Financing, Ecology, and Combating Import Dependency
The Portuguese government has provided a grant of 110 million euros, which is a significant step towards the project’s realization. The final investment decision is expected by the end of this year, with construction slated to begin in 2027 and production set to launch in 2028.
The European Union is interested in reducing its dependency on lithium imports from China; however, its own extraction and processing capacities remain limited. Savannah Resources anticipates that the project will become profitable at a price of $600 per ton of spodumene concentrate, allowing it to compete with major global companies and ensuring the supply of raw materials directly to European processing facilities. For comparison, spodumene imported to China currently costs over $2,000 per ton.
The implementation of the project has faced some resistance from local residents, as the Barrosa area has held the status of a UNESCO World Heritage agricultural site since 2018. At the same time, according to the company’s leadership, social tensions are gradually decreasing due to the involvement of local workers and the expansion of communication with the community.
In September 2025, Savannah Resources announced that after additional exploratory work, it had increased its lithium reserves estimate by 40%, marking an important step for Europe’s energy security and economic independence.