LISBON (Reuters) – The lush, green hills where Paulo Pires has for years brought sheep to graze above his picturesque Portuguese village may soon be transformed by the race to power electric vehicles.
Demonstrators protest against lithium mines in downtown Lisbon, Portugal September 21, 2019. The banner reads “No to mine, Yes to life”. REUTERS/Rafael Marchante
Signs of change already give him sleepless nights. Hundreds of drill holes across the countryside show where miners want to excavate the land for lithium, a vital ingredient for batteries used in electric cars, smartphones and energy storage.
“If my livelihood is taken away from me, I won’t have a future elsewhere,” said 45-year-old Pires, whose village lies in the municipal district of Boticas.
Pires and his idyllic surrounds are on one of the frontlines of a battle pitting companies eager to exploit Portugal’s 60,000 tonnes of known lithium reserves against locals determined to preserve their rights over the land…
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