Portugal’s mining strategy may favour copper over lithium
Portugal already has the largest copper mine in the European Union, operated by Lundin Mining.
Spain-based explorer and engineering company INSERSA and its Canadian arm, Kerogen Energy, are exploring a lead deposit in Linares, a former Pb mining hub located in southern Spain.
At the €40-million project which they have dubbed “Nuevo Linares,” Kerogen and INSERSA are trying to figure out the quantities and quality of the remaining ore, 30 years after the last-standing mine in the area shut down.
The lack of profitability prompted the closure of the mines in the mid-20th century but there remained some unexploited resources.
Kerogen and INSERSA’s studies of the El Cobre-Matacabras-San Juan zone have allowed them to envision a 10-year operation with the capacity to generate 25,000 tonnes of metal per annum.
Nuevo Linarese spans 168 mining grids in the municipalities of Guarromán, Bailén and Linares.
Talking to local media, the firms have expressed optimism following two years of geophysical and geochemical studies, drilling campaigns and analysis of historical information.
The companies noted that their goal is to supply the clean energy and electric vehicle markets.
