US interested in supporting lithium exploration in Portugal

 In Companies, Lithium ore mining, News

US expresses interest in supporting lithium exploration in Portugal.

The US administration is interested in finding partners, customers and funding for all lithium exploration projects in Portugal.

According to newspaper Público the interest was recently expressed in Lisbon by the US Deputy Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy and Environment, Jose W. Fernandez, sent by Washington to Portugal and Spain for a series of working meetings with representatives of the governments of the two countries and private sector companies.

The US interest in supporting lithium exploration in Portugal is directly linked to US tensions with China, which dominates the supply of lithium on a global scale.

It is a cause for concern in Washington, Fernandez admitted at a meeting with journalists held at the US embassy in Lisbon last week, after a meeting with the Minister of the Economy, Pedro Reis and Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro.

“The US expresses interest in supporting lithium exploration in Portugal. China is our third largest trading partner”, emphasised the US representative, “but the rules it practices are not the same”.

“US commercial strategy is not to cut ties with China (decoupling) but to diversify supply chains, to reduce exposure to risk” he explained.

A series of working meetings were held in Portugal including companies like Bondalti Lithium, Savannah Resources, Start Campus, Altice, Google, Equinix, and Ericsson, among others.

Although details of the discussions have not be revealed, Savannah plans to begin lithium ore mining at the Barroso mine in Boticas in 2027.

“We will maintain contact with these companies one the back of the Minerals Security Partnership we created two weeks ago in New York with a consortium of national agencies to support exports via credit insurance and development banks.

“We will also have a network of private capital investors and companies looking for investment opportunities. We are suggesting that these companies (in Portugal or Portuguese) should take advantage of this network and talk to us.

“We can never guarantee financing because we don’t tell investor partners where to invest, but we can help build partnerships and organise meetings so that interested parties can explore opportunities,” said the US Deputy Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy and Environment, Jose W. Fernandez.