Decision on lithium mining in the Czech Ore Mountains expected by year-end

A decision on the lithium mining project at Cínovec in the Ore Mountains is expected by the end of this year, Roman Gazdík, a spokesman for energy group ČEZ, told the Czech News Agency (ČTK) today. A feasibility study, which will analyse in detail the investment plan for both the mining operation itself and the processing plant, is expected to be completed this summer. Lithium is a metal used in the manufacture of car batteries, in the ceramics and glass industries, and in the production of some medicines.

“Work is under way intensively on updating the final feasibility study,” Gazdík said.

The processing plant is planned for land owned by the energy group near the Prunéřov power plant in the Chomutov district. The originally proposed Dukla industrial zone near the village of Újezdeček in the Teplice district will be used only for a railway station, from which the ore will be transported by rail to Prunéřov. “We believe this is a good compromise that can help the project while also accommodating the surrounding municipalities,” Gazdík said. Local residents and neighbouring municipalities opposed building the factory in Újezdeček.

According to Gazdík, this is a major change to the project as a whole, so an extensive update to the feasibility study is needed. It is a detailed document prepared specifically for a given site and must include all the factors relating to the new location where the plant is expected to be built.

Lithium is considered a metal of the future. According to estimates, Czechia holds around three percent of the world’s reserves—the vast majority at Cínovec and a small amount in the Slavkov Forest. The deposit at Cínovec is the largest in Europe. The possibility of mining lithium in Czechia became one of the topics debated ahead of the 2017 parliamentary elections.