Snapshot: In 2023, the parish Freguesia de Covas do Barroso, in the municipality of Boticas, located in the Barroso region of northern Portugal, filed a lawsuit challenging the environmental approval of a lithium mine project by Savannah Resources. The Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) granted the environmental approval in May 2023 despite strong local opposition. In February 2024, the Portuguese public prosecutor office asked the Administrative Court of Mirandela to annul the permit, arguing that the project could endanger the region, which has been recognised as a heritage site for agriculture. The prosecutor also added that the APA allegedly did not accurately assess the risks of water contamination, and the joint impact of Savannah Resources' Boticas mine and Lusorecursos' mine in Montalegre due to their proximity and size.

Savannah Resources declared that it was "ready to address the[se] concerns".

The case is ongoing.