Grandola, Setubal, Portugal, March 21, 2025 (Lusa) - The environmental impact study for the Lagoa Salgada mine project, in Portugal's Alentejo districts of Grândola and Alcácer do Sal, to extract copper and other metals, is out for public consultation until 28 April.
The project covers the Union of Parishes of Grândola and Santa Margarida da Serra, in the district of Grândola, and the parish of Torrão, in the district of Alcácer do Sal, in the Alentejo coastal region, in the district of Setúbal, can be read on the Participa portal of the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA).
Its objective is the underground mining of metallic mineral deposits of copper, lead, zinc and associated metals, using alternative energy sources. Secondary mineralisations such as tin, silver and gold will also be mined.
According to the non technical summary, consulted by the Lusa news agency on Participa portal, the project is back in public consultation after the environmental impact assessment (EIS) was rejected by the APA in July 2024.
The project, which is in the preliminary study phase, is promoted by Redcorp - Empreendimentos Mineiros, Lda, and the respective EIS, dated February of this year, went into public consultation on the 14th of this month, the document reads.
The investment, whose figure is not revealed in the documents consulted by Participa, has Potential National Interest (PIN) status.
According to the document, construction of the infrastructures to support mining operations is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2026 and operations are scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2027, and an environmental licence must be issued for this phase.
After the mine's operating phase, which is expected to last 11 years, it will be decommissioned and the closure plan will be implemented.
The project includes, among other things, the construction of a 60 kV (kilovolt) High Voltage Overhead Line (LAAT) with a length of 15 kilometres to supply power to the mining complex, a water main connecting to the Vale do Gaio reservoir in Alcácer do Sal to supply water, and a renewable electricity production unit.
Among the main constraints are areas belonging to the National Ecological Reserve (REN), the crossing of cork oak forests, mixed cork oak and stone pine forests and part of the water domain.
With regard to the REN zone, the document states, "there is compatibility with the project under Article 37 of the Grândola PDM [Municipal Master Plan] Regulations".
The regulation in question allows "the research, prospecting and exploitation of geological resources that, under the terms of the legal regime for the disclosure and exploitation of geological resources, are included in the public domain of the State, in all categories of rural land, provided that such resources are classified as being of national public interest".
Compensatory measures are planned, such as the afforestation of 73 hectares of cork oak and stone pine at Herdade da Nogueirinha, in Grândola, and the preparation of a technical-scientific study on the decline of the cork oak forest and mitigation proposals, in partnership with the Polytechnic Institute of Beja, the University of Évora and local forestry associations.
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