Czech Ústí nad Labem Region considers lithium mining documents inadequate

The Ústí nad Labem Region considers the documents submitted by Geomet for its planned lithium mining project in the Ore Mountains inadequate. The documents need to include a specific description of the technology for processing the mined ore, regional governor Richard Brabec (ANO) told reporters today. He wants to revive the lithium working group so that residents have more information about the project.

According to the region, the documentation also lacks specific details on waste and wastewater. The regional council is calling for a detailed assessment of the project’s impact on the health of residents in affected municipalities, as well as its effects on the landscape, air quality, noise levels, and surface and groundwater.

Lithium is considered a metal of the future. Estimates suggest that around three percent of the world’s reserves are in Czechia, the vast majority at Cínovec and a small amount in the Slavkov Forest. The Cínovec deposit is the largest in Europe. ČEZ wants to decide by the end of this year whether to proceed with mining. “This is one of the major projects, so we want to safeguard the interests of our residents and municipalities,” the regional governor said.

Geomet, whose majority owner is North Bohemian Mines, part of the ČEZ Group, plans to crush the ore in the mine. It would then be transported by conveyor belt or cableway to a transfer terminal in Újezdeček near Teplice, and from there to a processing plant on the site of a former lignite-fired power station near Chomutov. The processing plant would have an annual capacity of 3.2 million tonnes of ore. The project’s main goal is to produce lithium carbonate for battery manufacturing.

The regional governor wants to revive the working group, which included representatives of Geomet, municipalities and the region. “We want to know how the project, worth billions of crowns, is progressing,” Brabec said. The published documents indicate that 500 people could work at the processing plant in Prunéřov and 100 at the transfer terminal.