People of Covas do Barroso accuse company of forcibly entering land

“The company is trying to enter land, where it does not have authorization, by force and we were forced to come here to defend our land”, said the president of the Local Community of Baldios de Covas do Barroso, Aida Fernandes, who was speaking to journalists in a pine forest area where Savannah is allegedly trying to do prospecting.

Since Thursday, people in this locality have been on permanent alert to prevent the advance of machines on land that they say does not belong to Savannah, the concession company for the Barroso lithium mine that obtained a favorable Environmental Impact Statement (DIA) conditional in May.

“The area in question is in dispute, with a complaint registered in court, so it is our understanding that until there is a decision they are not authorized to enter the area in dispute”, highlighted the person in charge, indicating that whenever there is an attempt before the machine moves forward, the GNR is called, as happened this morning, to take care of the incident.

Lusa tried to obtain clarification from the company, which has not been possible so far.

Aida Fernandes said that the work on the land, carried out by subcontracted companies, aims to deforest pine forests to prospect for lithium.

“We have to be here every day, because the orders they have, if we are not here, are to move forward and, therefore, we have to be here defending what is ours”, he stressed.

Among the cases filed in court against Savannah, one of them is precisely related to the land.

The action was brought by the Comunidade de Baldios de Covas do Barroso against the company and individuals and seeks the restitution of land allegedly “usurped” by the company.

He also recently called on the MP to “investigate the usurpation of vacant and private land through the abusive use of BUPI (the new digital platform that allows land mapping) and fraudulent registrations that favor the mining company and the project in question”.

“On its land the company has full legitimacy to work, within the wasteland and private areas we do not authorize”, highlighted Aida Fernandes.

Carlos Gomes Gonçalves explained that people are organizing themselves in shifts to monitor the machine’s progress. “This affects our lives, it’s not just the time we spend here, it’s this anxiety that we bring day and night. It’s boring and slows down our lives, because our life is working in the fields and we have to leave work behind to come here”, highlighted this farmer.

Maria Loureiro takes breaks from her agricultural work to help monitor the mining company’s work.

“We have to come, because they want to enter our land without authorization at all costs. So, when they started to cut down the trees, they were told that they couldn’t do it, but they said [os trabalhadores] which were the orders they had and continued. We had to impose ourselves and we have to come here every day, as soon as the man with the machine passes by”, he stressed.

The Barroso mine is part of the Influencer operation, which led to the prime minister’s resignation. The process targets the Boticas and Montalegre lithium exploration concessions, both in Vila Real; an energy production project from hydrogen in Sines, Setúbal, and the construction project of a ‘data center’ in the Industrial and Logistics Zone of Sines by the company Start Campus.

As for the investigation, Aida Fernandes said that it proved the opposition to mining exploration.

“This takes away our peace, it takes away our peace, our sleep, this is not health. We are being harmed”, highlighted Maria Loureiro, who made a point of saying that her life is agriculture, but that, in Covas, she is “fighting against everything and everyone”.

The Barroso mine was the first lithium project in Portugal that obtained a favorable DIA (Environmental Impact Statement), although conditional on the implementation of compensation and mitigation measures.