The city of Cáceres has the second largest lithium mine in Europe, one of the largest due to its high demand for essential technologies and its reduced supply. Initially, the Australian firm Infinity Lithium proposed a , which was resoundingly rejected due to the many objections of Cáceres society.
However, in response to the demands of the city, through its Spanish subsidiary Extremadura New Energies (ENE), the company has redesigned its entire proposal to make the mine completely underground and more environmentally friendly. The surface of the Valdeflores Valley, one of the main claims, will not be touched. “The highest area of the excavation will be 40 meters below the surface, which would not generate vibrations or dust and would not produce noise,” Ramón Jiménez Serrano, CEO of Extremadura New Energies, told elEconomista.
Another of the great fears was that the mine would contaminate the Calerizo aquifer, “but this is impossible because we are in two different geological formations, they do not communicate,” explains Jiménez Serrano. In addition to being underground, the project goes from using fossil fuels (normal excavation machinery) to being a 100% electric project. From a project that burned natural gas, it is now proposed as a project that burns green hydrogen. Likewise, by not touching the surface, the intention is to install photovoltaic panels so that the company can have its own solar energy and hydrogen.
“We know that it is a unique deposit in the world due to its characteristics: there is a lot of concentrated lithium whose form allows its extraction in a less polluting and safer way”, explains the CEO of ENE. It does not require sulfuric acid, nor any type of additive that is polluting for the extraction of lithium, but water to wash this process. The water supply will include recycled water from the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), as well as reused water from internal recirculation processes, treated through purification in a closed circuit, for which a treatment plant will be built. Inverse osmosis.
The mine, moreover, will not remain hollow inside. Of the entire deposit, the company will take advantage of a part and the remaining rocks, from which all the lithium cannot be extracted, will be reinjected to close it.
Value creation
According to figures from Extremadura New Energies, the mine alone would involve an investment of more than 600 million euros, not counting other technologies such as photovoltaics or hydrogen.
The development of the project is in the hands of a company 100% from Cáceres. All taxes will be paid in Cáceres, which according to company estimates, throughout the life of the project is about 2,400 million euros: 1,200 million for Extremadura and 1,200 million for national coffers. “We have a processing plant that takes the lithium that we get out of the rock and turns it into lithium hydroxide that can be used in gigafactories to create batteries. Lithium was worth €1,000 a tonne and lithium hydroxide was worth €17,000 a tonne. , so that we leave an added value in Cáceres of an additional 16,000 euros. Tax is paid on that,” Jiménez details.
In addition, 700 jobs will be created continuously for 24 years to operate the plant and extraction. During construction, 1,500 direct jobs will be generated for two years. “The positions created will include special training and the average salary that will be paid is more than double the average salary of Cáceres, so it will leave wealth in the city,” he declares in a manager.
In this sense, ENE has reached agreements with the European Union to teach courses on batteries and green hydrogen at a regional level. And it is in talks with the University to create a master’s degree in the future, so that the people of Cáceres or anyone from outside can specialize in green energy.
Be listened
“Now what people have in mind is the hole in the mountain, with a local administration, which is not autonomous, that wants to use the argument of an open mine and does not want to sit down and listen that there is a new project,” explains Ramón Jiménez to this journal. The response of the local administration is that the project does not exist because it has not been officially presented, but the official presentation is not possible until the resolution of the court of the previous project is issued.
In this sense, ENE has also requested to speak with the Save the Mountain platform to address the new project. “What we are finding is a feeling of ‘no, why not and I don’t want to listen’, we are trying to see how we can change that trend”, emphasizes the CEO.