AMG to invest €10 million on lithium mining in Portugal

After having invested almost €19 million in 2024 to become the majority shareholder in mining company Savannah, the Netherland’s company AMG Lithium, which owns the Boticas lithium ore mine in Portugal, is to invest a further €10 million on extraction in the country to feed its refinery in Germany.

The AMG project in partnership with the Lagoa Group estimates an initial production of 8,000 to 9,000 tonnes per year to 2027.

AMG opened its first lithium refinery in Germany with a capacity of 20,000 tonnes per year, sufficient to power 500,000 electric vehicle batteries.

The agreement now signed with the Lagoa Group expects that lithium production from its pilot unit will be paid at market prices. Moreover, the agreement also stipulates the “handing over of the mine” to the Lagoa Group should AMG Lithium decide to build a larger plant on an industrial scale at the mine which is currently already under exploration.

“This partnership is a unique opportunity for both parties since we can leverage the experience of AMG Brasil because of the similarities between its mine in that country and the operations in Portugal”, states AMG, guaranteeing the “supply of ceramic and glass materials for local clients, competitive production costs, and a limited environmental impact on the local communities”.

According to data from the General-Directorate of Energy and Geology (DGEG), the Lagoa Group, through its company José Alesia Lagoa & Filhos (JALF), has 12 mining concession contracts in the centre and north of Portugal signed between 1995 and 2024.

The latest one signed in April last year is for the Veral project to extract feldspar, quartz and lithium at sites in the district of Vila Real.