According to the Minister, the executive defined the basic principles of the national strategy for critical raw materials and mining about a year ago and is now working on its implementation, which is why the tender has not yet been launched.
“We promised to follow the strategy based on those principles. That is what we are working on, and that is why we have not launched it [yet].”
Maria da Graça Carvalho told Lusa that a central aspect of the process is the involvement of local communities.
The Minister stressed that the challenge is to ensure projects are well accepted in the territories where they are developed, creating not only national-level wealth but also direct benefits for local regions and communities.
“A project only makes sense today if it benefits the local population, if it benefits the country, if it creates wealth, if it creates jobs and if it has acceptable environmental impacts,” she said, emphasising the role of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) entities, such as the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA).
The Minister also mentioned that there are good practices in other countries, including models for sharing benefits and local compensation, which the government is analysing, as well as national examples, particularly in Alentejo.
When asked whether the tender, which has been in the pipeline for years, could proceed in 2026, the Minister replied that ‘it could be this year’, indicating she expected the strategy and associated processes to be completed quickly.
Maria da Graça Carvalho also stressed that the development of lithium mining must be linked to the creation of added value in Portugal, including industrial units that use the raw material, to avoid a purely export-oriented approach.
“I really want the populations where the projects are developed to feel good about the project they have there,” she concluded.