Savannah Resources has submitted the Environmental Impact Assessment (‘EIA’) and accompanying Mine Plan (‘MP’) reports for its wholly owned Mina do Barroso lithium project to Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente, (‘APA’), the Portuguese Environmental Agency. Submission of the EIA is a major milestone for Savannah as this step represents the culmination of over 18 months of work by the Company’s Project team and expert, independent environmental consultants including baseline data collection, analysis, and mitigation design and planning.

• Mina do Barroso will be designed and operated to minimise its impact on the natural environment and society and to ensure its lithium product carries the minimal carbon footprint into the lithium battery supply chain
• Approval of the EIA is regarded as the key element in the Project’s overall approval process
• The EIA will be made public by APA once it is satisfied that the report is in conformity with its application requirements whereupon a mandated period of public consultation with stakeholders will commence
• The 3,720 page EIA was prepared by VISA Consultores (‘VISA’), one of Portugal’s leading environmental consultancies, and the authors of the previous EIA for Mina do Barroso which was approved in association with the original Mining Lease award in 2006
• The new EIA is required to reflect the proposal for a larger operation and additional, value adding processing with the production of at least 175,000t per annum of spodumene lithium concentrate
• At 2,310 pages, the MP submitted alongside the EIA, provides the regulator with an equally comprehensive review of all aspects of the Project’s design, construction and operation that can now be incorporated into the Definitive Feasibility Study (‘DFS’).
• APA’s guidance states that the review process for both reports is expected to take approximately 140 working days (c. 7 months). The review of the MP is undertaken alongside the EIA review by the Direção-Geral de Energia e Geologia (‘DGEG’)
• Under the regulations APA and DGEG can pause their reviews once to request more information from Savannah. Hence, the overall process may take longer (up to 10 months) if further information is requested
• While the APA review is underway, Savannah’s team will continue to:

Finalise its stakeholder engagement strategy for Mina do Barroso ahead of presenting this to local stakeholders

• Advance the Project’s Definitive Feasibility Study
• Negotiate with potential customers for its lithium, quartz and feldspar products as well as strategic investors in the Project

David Archer, Savannah's Chief Executive Officer said, 
"We are pleased that the EIA presents a comprehensive body of fact based evidence which shows that Mina do Barroso can be a ‘low impact’ project, minimising disturbance to both the natural environment and local communities while also maximising the very significant socio-economic benefits the Project can bring to the local area and Portugal as a whole.

“We are committed to developing and operating Mina do Barroso in a responsible and sustainable way so that the lithium from the Project enters the battery supply chain with a minimal carbon footprint and so maximising the long term environmental benefits the metal can bring in the fight against climate change.

“Today’s EIA submission represents the culmination of a huge effort by our Project team in Portugal, by VISA as the study manager and by the 28 sub-consulting groups who, as leading experts in their fields, also provided valuable input. Through comprehensive technical analysis the team has identified all aspects of the Project which may impact the natural environment or society and have incorporated into the Project’s design robust ways of mitigating these impacts where necessary, as well as innovative rehabilitation solutions for the lease area once the mine operating phase has been completed.

“The Mine Plan which was also compiled by our in-house team with input from a number of highly experienced consultants, has also been submitted to APA today. This report incorporates detailed design and planning work in relation to site layout and infrastructure, pit and plant design, and scheduling and production rates that can now be folded into the ongoing DFS exercise.

“Savannah’s technical team will now continue with the work on the project’s DFS while being ready to respond to queries and requests for any additional information from APA, which is the next step in the EIA approval process. The remainder of the Savannah team will be working on upcoming presentations to local stakeholders of our long-term community engagement programme which will accompany the Project’s development, as well as our ongoing negotiations with the Project’s potential commercial partners and strategic investors.

“My thanks go to all those who have worked so diligently on these critical Project reports, particularly given the added challenges caused by the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. While virus-related challenges still have the potential to cause further delays to the execution of our strategy for the Project, Savannah expects to make further progress with key Project related work programmes during 2020 and I look forward to providing our shareholders with further updates as appropriate.”