Demonstrations and testimonies at the anti-mine camp in Boticas

The 2025 edition of the camp against the lithium mine, which takes place between this Friday and Sunday, in Covas do Barroso, Boticas, includes a street parade, testimonies and performative acts led by locals centered on the theme of popular justice.

“The camp is very important for us and for our struggle, because it shows that we are not alone, that there are people in every corner of the country who also think that what is happening to us is an injustice,” said, quoted in a statement, the president of the association Unidos em Defesa de Covas do Barroso (UDCB), Nélson Gomes.

But it also shows, he added, “that the village is united and willing to continue fighting for what is theirs.”

The Barroso defense camp, held for the fifth consecutive year, begins this Friday and continues until Sunday in Covas do Barroso and Romaínho. This is the territory where the British company Savannah Resources plans to develop a lithium mine.

According to the organizers, the event brings together the local population, activists, and environmental associations in an "act of protest against lithium mining projects in the region and the current energy transition model."

The camp includes a protest march through the village streets near the Cruzeiro, in the center of Covas do Barroso, where slogans will be raised against mining, moments of sharing with testimonies from residents and performances, led by locals, centered on the theme of popular justice.

The event includes debates, concerts and shows.

"Covas do Barroso welcomes those who come willingly, and therefore, it is a joy for us to welcome those who want to visit us and get to know us a little better. Our dream is that they continue to visit us in the future, with this fight won," emphasized Lúcia Mó, president of the Parish Council and member of the UDCB, who emphasized the "importance of the camp for the village's cause."

The fight against the Barroso mine has been ongoing since 2017, intensifying in the last year after, in December 2024, the Ministry of the Environment granted an administrative easement to Savannah allowing it to access the land for prospecting work.

Meanwhile, the company requested a second administrative easement to expand drilling work in this territory in the municipality of Boticas, in the district of Vila Real.

In the statement, the UDCB said that the “company occupied private and vacant land without the consent of the population, to carry out prospecting work”.

The association recalled that it has “repeatedly contested the legitimacy of this measure and denounced the continued climate of surveillance, insecurity and intimidation in the village”.

In this context of "indignation at the company's abuses and the government's connivance," the camp in defense of Barroso is, according to the UDCB, a "moment to denounce the injustices committed against the population of Covas do Barroso, to mobilize support and raise funds for the association's legal actions."

The camp brings together hundreds of participants, non-governmental organizations, and experts, and also aims to be a space for sharing experiences and "strengthening ties" with the local community.

The open-pit lithium mine obtained a conditional Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in 2023 and the company expects to begin production in 2027.

The Barroso mine was considered a strategic project by the European Commission in March 2025, but has been challenged locally by residents, mayors, and environmentalists.

In recent years, several demonstrations have been held and legal proceedings have been filed, among other actions to combat mining in this territory.