The resignation of the Portuguese Prime Minister, Antonio Costa, over the alleged bribes granted to three companies with energy exploitation projects in the Portuguese country has caused a great stir.
Due to the accusations, the Portuguese Police, in collaboration with the country’s Prosecutor’s Office, have searched Costa’s house, as well as the headquarters of the Ministries of Infrastructure and the Environment, where arrests have been made, according to EFE.
MadoquaPower2X, Mina do Romana and Barroso, are the three projects that Costa has been accused of benefiting, participating in possible crimes of prevarication, active and passive corruption.
As for the first, Madoqua Renewables, the parent company has issued an official statement, to which EL MUNDO has been able to have access, in which it claims to be not related to the investigation that is still in process.
This is a mega project for the production of green hydrogen and ammonia located in the Portuguese town of Sines. Three companies are working on it with a total investment of 1,000 million euros: Madoqua Renewables, Power2X and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP).
According to forecasts, starting in 2025, this plant will produce around 50,000 tons of green hydrogen and 500,000 tons of green ammonia per year.
Lusorecursos Portugal Lithium, S.A. is the concessionaire of this exploitation in the north of Portugal, which aims to produce lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LiOH.H2O) from two concentrates, which in turn come from the extraction and processing of extracted aplito-pegmatite (LCT) rocks of the mine. Said exploration will be carried out both in the open sky and underground.
In addition, a complex of annex buildings will be installed that will be composed of a concentrator and a mining concentrate transformation factory.
It is contemplated that high-quality lithium-ion batteries will be manufactured with the production. However, the project that was approved in July of this year raised doubts and criticism among residents of the area, despite the positive environmental impact assessment.
The project in the Barroso Caves was also not without criticism from environmentalists in the area. In this case, it is the British Savannah that, under a 30-year mining concession contract, will work in the open pit in what is considered the largest lithium spodumene mine in Europe.
The project, located in the Portuguese municipality of Boticas, very close to the border with Spain, will be powered by the electricity generated by renewable energies in the area, to which is added the reduction of the carbon footprint, caused by the barely 150 kilometers that distance the plant from the port.