Decision by the Carinthian provincial government confirms: lithium project in Wolfsberg is not subject to an EIA
The lithium mining project on the Koralpe in Frantschach-St. Gertraud/Austria has reached a new milestone. After an intensive review, the company ECM Lithium AT GmbH has now received a decision from the Carinthian provincial government that the project is not subject to an environmental impact assessment (EIA). This is an important step towards realising the project and establishing a European battery supply chain for electric mobility.
In the case of underground mining, where the surface area required for the above-ground facilities is less than 10 ha, as is planned for lithium mining on the Koralpe, no EIA is required by law. Nevertheless, on 21st July 2020 ECM Lithium AT GmbH, a subsidiary of European Lithium, applied to the EIA authority to examine whether an EIA should be carried out for the lithium mining project in Koralpe. More than a year later and after intensive examination by the authorities on the basis of numerous documents submitted, it has been determined that this is not the case.
Dietrich Wanke (Figure 1), CEO of both ECM Lithium AT GmbH and European Lithium, as well as President Operations of Critical Metals, a company resulting from a merger with Sizzle Acquisition Corporation, of which European Lithium is the largest shareholder, says of the decision taken by the Carinthian state government on 26th November 2024 : “The finding that our lithium project at Weinebene, for which we have fully pre-financed all the complex preparatory work and project development for more than a decade, does not require an EIA, is based on the review by independent and highly experienced experts from a wide range of environmentally relevant fields. Although the process of determining this took over a year, it has paid off. Now we have it in black and white that our project does not require an EIA. In this regard, we were already extremely confident beforehand, because underground mining is arguably the most environmentally friendly method of lithium extraction.” “The decision of the EIA authority has now clarified the responsibility of the mining authority for the approval of the project, and we can rule out delays due to a possible objection to an EIA requirement at a later project phase, e. g. shortly before mining begins. This is a major milestone in the environmentally friendly and sustainable production of the critical raw material lithium from Austrian mining in an integrated European supply chain, located in the heart of Europe. In view of Europe’s dependence on raw materials, it would be nice if the European Union also recognised that mining does not have to be dirty per se, but is eligible for funding and worthy of investment – and above all necessary,” says Dietrich Wanke.
The EIA authority’s review covered the entire project on the Koralpe, including the planned underground mining, the surface mining facility for producing a spodumene concentrate, the energy supply lines and necessary deforestation, as well as the backfilling of the empty mining chambers with the excess mining material, and an assessment of interactions with other projects. The review was carried out by official experts in the fields of forestry, nature conservation, geology, hydrogeology, waste management, chemistry, process engineering, aquatic ecology and water management, as well as torrent and avalanche control.
On the basis of this comprehensive case-by-case examination, in which all the relevant facts of the EIA law were taken into account, the EIA authority came to the conclusion that an EIA is not necessary. The conclusion of the decision of the Carinthian provincial government states: “In summary, it can therefore be stated that the conditions for the obligation to carry out an environmental impact assessment are not met for the project “Lithium Mining Koralpe”, as described in more detail in the operative part of this declaratory decision, and that therefore no environmental impact assessment is to be carried out for this project in accordance with the provisions of the UVP-G 2000.”
The focus of the project is now on financing the start of mining and continuing to pursue approval of the plant and the extraction plan. The decision that no EIA is to be carried out could now have a positive effect on financing. To date, more than 70 M AUS$ (approximately 43 M €) has been invested in exploration and preparation. So far, the project has not received any funding for mining. Despite the positive final feasibility study and numerous discussions, European banks have so far been reluctant to provide financing. Therefore, Critical Metals is primarily looking for US investors. (European Lithium/Si.)
