TIDMSAV
RNS Number : 7578V
Savannah Resources PLC
16 April 2021
16 April 2021
Savannah Resources Plc
('Savannah' or the 'Company')
Mina do Barroso EIA Update
Portuguese Environment Agency Declares Conformity of EIA
Following its review, Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente ("APA"),
the Portuguese environmental regulator, has declared the Mina do
Barroso Lithium Project ("Mina do Barroso" or the "Project")
Environmental Impact Assessment ("EIA") to be in conformity with
its requirements for the content of the EIA. The EIA will now
progress to the next stages of the approval process, being a public
consultation and a detailed review by APA's Evaluation Committee,
which take place simultaneously.
Highlights
-- Mina do Barroso has achieved another major milestone in the
path to production, having received a declaration of conformity
from the APA on the content of its EIA.
-- The Mina do Barroso EIA includes a responsible and
sustainable mine plan, related infrastructure and spodumene
processing facilities.
-- Mina do Barroso will be developed in accordance with the
world's best environmental practices for the minerals production
industry and will be an example of sustainability and innovation in
the Portuguese and European mineral production sectors.
-- The Mina do Barroso development plan is based on the
Company's "Green and Smart Mining" concept, with a strong focus on
the efficient use of energy, materials and water in order to reduce
the environmental footprint of the life cycles of mineral-based
products.
-- The Project's design will involve the investment of over
EUR15 million of initial capital costs into measures to either
eliminate or reduce potential social and environmental impacts.
-- The EIA contains detailed plans for the preservation of the region's fauna and flora.
-- The Project has the potential to contribute over EUR1.2
billion to Portuguese gross national product over the life of the
operation.
-- EUR110 million will be invested in developing the Project
locally, which will bring a series of benefits to the Boticas
region and will create approximately 215 direct jobs and between
500 and 600 indirect jobs to support the Project.
David Archer, Savannah's Chief Executive Officer, said: "We are
delighted with APA's conclusion that the EIA for Mina do Barroso is
in conformity with its content requirements. The EIA includes
comprehensive proposals for our Community Benefit Sharing Plan and
Good Neighbour Commitment as well as detailed plans for how
Savannah will sustainably manage energy, water and material output
at the mine. The objective of 'Green and Smart Mining' has always
been a priority for Savannah in developing Mina do Barroso, and we
now look forward to discussing the details of these
community-focused plans along with the technical and environmental
features of the Project's development, operation and
rehabilitation, with all stakeholders as part of the ongoing EIA
approval process."
"We expect Mina do Barroso to provide Europe with a
strategically important local, long term and secure source of
lithium raw materials. In September 2020, lithium was added to the
European Commission's list of critical raw materials reflecting
both the importance of lithium battery technology in meeting the
region's long term climate goals, and the threat to raw material
supply availability to the EU due to increased demand
globally."
"Savannah is committed to developing and operating the Mina do
Barroso Project in a responsible way while minimising the Project's
impact on the local environment and maximising the opportunity it
offers to stakeholders. The Project is a vital part of the lithium
battery value chain that will not only bring economic growth to the
Iberian Peninsula, but also significant environmental benefits
through a reduction in CO2 emissions driven by the electric vehicle
revolution in addition to vastly improved living conditions for
millions of Europeans via reductions in harmful air pollution".
Some of the key measures we will be adopting include:
-- The elimination of traffic generated by the Project from
local villages with the construction of an 8 km long by-pass road
costing approximately EUR6million.
-- The Project is designed to be largely self-sufficient with
regards to water usage, with the innovative use of mine run-off
water and technologies recycling 85% of the water required to
operate Mina do Barroso .
-- The process plant will be placed in a valley to minimise any
sound and light impacts with no direct line of sight to nearby
villages.
-- Vegetated earthen walls will be built to screen operations from local houses.
-- Reagents will be largely organic based with the innovative
use of oleic acid (e.g. olive oil) as the key reagent.
-- Operations, such as concentrate transport, have been designed
around tailored schedules for each major operational element to
minimise impacts on local communities.
-- Tailings will be dewatered to allow dry storage resulting in
a superior environmental outcome.
-- Phased mining of deposits, which will allow for progressive
rehabilitation, which will be a key feature of the project with an
emphasis on re-establishing native species lost in forest
fires.
-- Objective to move to carbon neutrality with the use of both
on-site and grid-based renewable energy sources for the process
plant and mobile equipment.
-- Establishment of a dedicated mine app with state-of-the-art,
real time environmental monitoring data available to
stakeholders.
Next Steps
APA will define and initiate the public consultation process
which is due to start in April 2021, with this next stage of the
process expected to run no less than 45 working days. Results from
the public consultation and the Evaluation Committee's review will
then form the basis for the Committee's "Final Technical Statement"
which will allow APA to prepare the contents of the Environmental
Impact Declaration ("DIA") and award the Project its DIA. Assuming
there are no statutory delays, Savannah is expecting to receive the
DIA during August 2021.
Project Overview
The Mina do Barroso EIA reflects our care and concerns for the
local populations and the region, as well as the Company's detailed
planning focus on the different phases of the Project, from
construction, through operation to mine closure. This is an
intrinsic element of the entire life cycle of mining from the
initial project design to assessment for mining approval purposes;
continuing through implementation, decommissioning, and final
rehabilitation and closure.
Closure planning for Mina do Barroso will be proactive, commence
early, and will become progressively more detailed as the end of
the Project's life cycle approaches. This echoes the principles for
mitigation and adaptive environmental management that Savannah
stated in the Mina do Barroso EIA, by making explicit linkages
between the EIA and mine closure planning, highlighting the
importance of identifying and assessing environmental and social
impacts of the Project, along with putting in place the appropriate
mitigation, management and monitoring measures.
Mina do Barroso will be designed and operated to minimise its
impact on the natural environment and society and to ensure its
lithium product carries the minimal carbon footprint into the
lithium battery supply chain.
The EIA and associated Mine Plan includes:
-- A 42-page Non-Technical Resumé which is specifically designed
to provide lay readers with a comprehensive, non-technical overview
of the Project.
-- A 3,720-page EIA prepared by VISA Consultores ('VISA'), one
of Portugal's leading environmental consultancies, along with 28
sub-consultants all of whom are leaders in their fields. VISA was
the author of the original EIA for Mina do Barroso which was
approved in association with the Mining Lease award in 2006.
-- Proposals for an expanded mineral production operation at
Mina do Barroso and additional, value adding processing with the
production of at least 175,000t per annum of spodumene lithium
concentrate.
-- An updated 2,310-page Mine Plan, submitted alongside the EIA,
provides the regulator with an equally comprehensive review of all
aspects of the Project's design, construction and operation that
will be incorporated into the Definitive Feasibility Study
("DFS").
Key Features of the Project are:
-- The development of a responsible, sustainable mining plan
which either eliminates impacts or reduces impacts to the point
where they are no longer meaningful.
-- A particular focus of the design work has been the investment
of significant capital into measures to reduce and minimise any
potential social and environmental impacts.
-- Savannah will ensure strict compliance with legislation, both
national and European, and other environmental requirements to
ensure the Project's environmental footprint is minimised.
-- Strict procedures have been developed to control the most
sensitive environmental aspects, such as water resources (surface
and underground), water quality, air quality, sound environment,
vibrations, soils (quality and geochemistry), ecological systems,
landscape, socio-economics and heritage.
-- The Mina do Barroso development is based on the Company's
"Green and Smart Mining" concept, with a strong focus on the
efficient use of energy, materials and water - in order to reduce
the environmental footprint of the life cycles of mineral-based
products.
-- Mina do Barroso will actively promote the elimination or
mitigation of any environmental and social impacts at all stages of
the operation.
-- The Project will have strongly positive socio-economic
impacts which will be significant at the regional and local level,
by creating direct and indirect employment and contributing
effectively to the economic diversification of the
municipality.
-- A Benefit Sharing Plan has been developed which aims to
ensure that local communities receive a fair share of the benefits
from the mining operation, and that these benefits are sustainable
and consistent with community needs and local development
objectives during the life of the mine and beyond.
-- Our Good Neighbor Programme outlines a series of aspects of
our operations that will deliver positive outcomes and enable the
surrounding communities to enjoy support for key issues such as
employment, health and transport.
-- Savannah will implement skills development programmes to
support and develop the career development of our staff. Mina do
Barroso has a strong formative component and is focused on raising
the standard of living of its employees.
-- The objective is, at the end of production operations, to
return the land fully recovered, safe, enhanced and available for
different uses by both local communities and visitors. Savannah
emphasises the fundamental importance of the preservation of the
environmental ecosystem.
-- The Project is relevant, not only at local and regional
level, for job creation and tax revenues, but at national level as
it will allow the potential use of a mineral with strategic
importance for the national economy and the whole of Europe.
Regulatory Information
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes
of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 596/2014.
**ENDS**
For further information please visit www.savannahresources.com
or contact:
Savannah Resources PLC Tel: +44 20 7117 2489
David Archer, CEO
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Nominated Tel: +44 20 3470 0470
Advisor)
David Hignell / Charlie Bouverat
finnCap Ltd (Joint Broker) Tel: +44 20 7220 0500
Christopher Raggett/ Tim Redfern
WH Ireland Limited (Joint Broker) Tel: +44 20 7220 1698
James Joyce/ Jessica Cave (Corporate Finance)
Adam Pollock/ Jasper Berry (Corporate
Broking)
Camarco (Financial PR) Tel: +44 20 3757 4980
Nick Hennis / Gordon Poole
About Savannah
Savannah is a diversified resources group (AIM: SAV) with two
development stage projects, a hardrock lithium project in Portugal
which has the largest spodumene lithium resource in Europe, and the
world-class Mutamba Heavy Mineral Sands Project in Mozambique,
which is being developed in a consortium with the global major, Rio
Tinto. The Board is committed to serving the interests of its
shareholders and to delivering outcomes that will improve the lives
of the communities we work with and our staff.
The Company is listed and regulated on AIM and the Company's
ordinary shares are also available on the Quotation Board of the
Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FWB) under the symbol FWB: SAV, and the
Börse Stuttgart (SWB) under the ticker "SAV".
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END
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