Vila Real, Portugal, Aug. 14, 2026 (Lusa) - The board of the Covas do Barroso Parish common land trust, in northern Portugal, warned on Friday that the agreements between Savannah Resources and local authorities do not constitute «social consent» regarding lithium or «support from the Barroso communities as a whole».

In a statement, the board rejected «the attempt by Savannah Resources [the company seeking to mine lithium in Boticas] to present the recent agreements signed in the region as a sign of social acceptance of the Barroso mine and to characterise the position of the common land owners as a refusal to engage in dialogue».

On Wednesday, Savannah Resources announced that it had concluded an agreement with the common lands of the villages of Alijó, Canedo and Penalonga (municipality of Ribeira de Pena, district of Vila Real), that it had amended the contract in force since 2020 with the Local Community of the Common Lands of Couto de Dornelas (Boticas, in the same region) and had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Secretariat of the Communal Lands of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (SBTMAD), a regional body representing hundreds of communal landholders' communities.

According to the board, the body elected by the community members to manage the communal land (around two thousand hectares) in Boticas, the agreements now announced serve «a key objective of the company: to gain access to the land required for the Barroso Mine Project».

«Financial compensation, memoranda of understanding or community benefits do not transform these agreements into social consent, let alone allow one to speak of support from the Barroso communities as a whole,» it adds.

The text emphasises that «Savannah's proposal was presented, debated and voted on at a stakeholders' meeting, where it was rejected by an overwhelming majority of those present, as evidenced by the relevant minutes».

At stake is «an informed, collective and democratic decision regarding community assets», which «must be respected».

The members, explains the board, «also understand the value of the land they are protecting».

«Following the major fire of 2010, more than €1.5 million of public and community investment was channelled into the restoration, management and planning of the Covas do Barroso common land. It is difficult to justify public money first being used to restore and protect this land and then subsequently allowing the destruction or irreversible transformation of part of that very investment through the establishment of a mine», it states.

The board does not accept that «promises of monitoring should replace effective environmental safeguards».

«The deforestation carried out on land covered by the project outside the period authorised by the Environmental Impact Statement has clearly demonstrated the weakness of the monitoring system. If a clear condition cannot be enforced in a timely manner, what guarantee is there that far more complex conditions will be effectively monitored during the construction and operation of the mine?», it asks.

The board also considers that «there is no negotiation between equals when a community's refusal can be overridden through coercive mechanisms».

For this reason, the board reaffirms that «the stakeholders have concrete reasons for not entering into new contracts, protocols or memoranda of understanding when there is not full transparency, no effective environmental or financial guarantees, and no genuinely independent oversight».

«Savannah has reached agreements with certain entities. It has not obtained Barroso's consent,» it emphasises.

The contract signed with the common lands of the villages of Alijó, Canedo and Penalonga covers 150 hectares in the Serra do Pinheiro, earmarked for prospecting work and the possible future exploitation of two Aldeia mining concession blocks, and safeguards the rights of the co-owners, who retain their rights to grazing, brush-cutting and herbaceous crops. It also provides for the rehabilitation of all drilling platforms and wells.

Since 2020, Savannah has had a contractual relationship with the Local Community of the Communal Lands of Couto de Dornelas, regarding the use of the communal access routes and paths necessary for prospecting work.

JCR/AYLS // AYLS

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