Spain | Lithium rush sparks fears and divisions

In the south-west of Spain, lithium, the key metal of the “ecological transition” whose price continues to grow, arouses covetousness. But the fears are numerous and the opposition determined.

A soft autumn sun caresses the peaceful Sierra de la Mosca and its golden olive trees, a welcome respite from the record summer heat that has boiled this corner of Extremadura, in southwestern Spain. An island of greenery in the middle of immense fields of cereals, this mountain with its rich biodiversity is the “green lung” of Caceres, capital of the homonymous province, which is not far from here.

With her feet hidden under the tall grass yellowed by the harsh summer sun, Montaña Chaves, a lifelong resident of this city of 95,000 souls, says with passion what “the mountain” represents: “It is an emblematic place, anchored in the genes of the cacereña population. »

But the tranquility of the place, flown over by golden eagles, is precarious. Because these hills contain a resource that has become precious at the time of “ecological transition”. Formerly ignored, lithium, a very light metal used to store energy in electric batteries, is now coveted everywhere. From Quebec – where a mine should open in 2025 in James Bay – to Europe (Portugal, Spain, France, Germany, Serbia, Czech Republic, etc.) via Latin America (Mexico, Bolivia, Argentina), announcements of discoveries of new deposits have multiplied in recent years, without however materializing in most cases.

Lithium, “of general and strategic interest”

In Extremadura, one of the poorest regions of Spain, less than 5 km from Caceres, the Australian multinational Infinity lithium, which created the local subsidiary Extremadura New Energies, plans to dig a mine by 2025 to extract 19,000 tons of lithium hydroxide annually. The pressure from the European Union and the Spanish government for the realization of this type of project – in order to reduce the European Union’s dependence on China, in particular – is such that the regional government promulgated a decree-law at the beginning of September which describes lithium as “of general and strategic interest”, facilitates its exploitation and guarantees its transformation in Extremadura.

In the region, a “giga-factory” of batteries, a factory of battery cells and another of cathodes are planned. In Caceres, according to the company’s plans unveiled at the end of September, the mine would be underground, after the project of an open-pit mine 2 km from the city center aroused widespread opposition, forcing the multinational to abandon it.

“A nice tale for the inhabitants”

But the battle is far from over. In mid-November, nearly a thousand people gathered in Caceres to recall their opposition to the new project. Manolo Sanchez was one of them. Rooted in this mountain for more than a century, near the valley of Valdeflores under which the mine tunnel will be dug, the white walls of his house, surrounded by cork oaks, waver. And for good reason, the trucks loaded with minerals would circulate a few hundred meters from here, between the entrance to the mine tunnel – which would be less than 1.4 km away in two of the three options proposed to the regional government – ​​and the nearby processing plant.

About twenty houses would be found a few tens of meters from these new bulky neighbors. “This mountain and the valley of Valdeflores is my life, because I grew up here, no money can take it away from me”, swears this retired professor.

He did not realize the magnitude of the lithium mining project until he, he says, surprised “men sent by the company clearing a path on [son] ground “. Then when a representative of the mine “asked him who owned the surrounding land”.

Today, Ramon Jimenez Serrano, CEO of Extremadura New Energies, tries to reassure the population: “We are not going to touch the surface of the mountain or any house, because we will be 40 meters below the highest point. lower in the valley. The company is touting that its fleet of trucks will be electric. And specifies, about the opening of the tunnel which would be 4.5 km from the historic center of Caceres, classified by UNESCO: “There will be no dust, no noise, no vibrations, this are very important points. »

It is difficult, however, to imagine such tranquility in the sierra once the mine is running, all-electric regardless of its fleet of trucks. “The mining company tells a nice tale to the inhabitants”, denounces Santiago Marquez, spokesperson for the opposition platform to the Salvemos la montaña mine.

Some 700 direct jobs in the production phase and 2100 indirect ones are mentioned by the company. This is the key argument for those who defend the project, including the mayor, in this aging city.

Water concerns

In the city, water is also a source of concern. Without a river, Caceres has been experiencing supply problems for decades. However, water is also and above all the key resource for the extraction of lithium. CEO Ramon Jimenez Serrano promises a “new” treatment process “patent pending”, without sulfuric acid – used to treat rock lithium – which allows water to be reused “infinitely”.

But in addition to the amount of water needed, concerns relate to the preservation of the calerizo, this water table under the city.

At the foot of the historic center of Caceres, busy harvesting his heirloom tomatoes, Lorenzo Erce only has water from the stream that runs alongside his crops to sustain him in this dry region for a good part of the year. “The river has the same flow all year round, it’s exceptional, but with the mine, it could dry up,” he fears. “We will have to stop growing, because we are screwing up our planet”, he says, disillusioned, in reference to the so-called “ecological transition”.

40 km from Caceres, another lithium mine, whose project is more advanced, should see the light of day. No matter where the water comes from, the thousands of razed oak trees, the ecological corridor in the heart of which it is located, in the heart of theEspana vacia (empty Spain, victim of the rural exodus), most of the inhabitants are in favor of it, “as long as it brings work and life”. For 25 years. Once the deposit is exhausted, no one knows what will be left of it.