The last public meeting on the project to exploit a lithium mine in Allier was held on Thursday. Local residents have sometimes changed their position, but the project still arouses strong criticism.
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Should a mine be opened in France, and if so, under what conditions? These are the questions at the heart of the public debate on the project of a lithium mine in Echassières, in Allier. It would be the first in France to extract this strategic metal for the energy transition, from 2028. The company Imerys thus plans to produce the quantity of lithium necessary to manufacture the batteries of 700,000 electric cars each year. The last public meeting of this debate was held on Thursday, July 18 in Echassières. After four months of sometimes heated exchanges, some residents and inhabitants of Allier have changed their position.
Of the 3,600 participants counted at the meetings, many actually came multiple times, over the months. Miguel, 52, formed his opinion: “I was neither for nor against. Today, I am against the exploitation that is going to be done. What got me into the subject was the concern about water. I think we’re going to face big problems in the future. We won’t be able to get out of it because today, for example, I don’t need lithium, I need drinking water. For me, I can do without lithium.”
So, what guarantee for water resources and what risk of pollution for the soil? Patricia, too, questioned herself throughout the debate. Opposed to the lithium mine, this member of the association Préservons la Forêt des Colettes has not changed her mind. However, she notes progress in relations with the company that is leading the project.
“We were very critical of the Imerys company at the beginning for not informing us, but this national commission for public debate forced them to work on the matter and to respond on the chemical products that were going to be used, on the trucks that were going to circulate…”
Patricia, member of the association Preserve the Colettes Forestto franceinfo
Communication with Imerys was only recently unblocked. “All this is stuff that happened little by little, that we didn’t have at the beginning. Now we know more. For that, indeed, there has been progress, continues Patricia, opposed to the project. Now, once again, we are not reassured at all.”
On the contrary, the responses from the Imerys company have partly reassured the departmental secretary of the CGT. “We have been told that 600 direct jobs will be created, employees of the Imerys company. This is a strong pointunderlines Laurent Indrusiak, who was nevertheless wary during the first meeting in March. It seems to us that it is perhaps preferable for lithium to be exploited here in Allier, perhaps with French legislation which is more demanding than elsewhere in the world, and [l’entreprise] deserves to keep its commitments. And we will be there to remind them, if the lithium mine sees the light of day”warns the CGT representative.
It is still possible to give your opinion on the project, online, on the website of the National Commission for Public Debate (CNDP), until July 31. The CNDP will submit its report and recommendations in the fall.