European Lithium Ltd (ASX:EUR, OTCQB:EULIF) has taken another step toward becoming Europe’s first local producer of battery-grade lithium on being granted new mining licences and extensions which double the footprint of the advanced Wolfsberg Lithium Project in Austria.
A public hearing conducted by the Austrian Mining Authority has resulted in the new licences and extensions, which come as the continent marches on in the strengthening transition to green energy.
The company has been granted six new mining licences while three existing licences have been extended with one of the extensions applying to the existing Andreas field and two to the newly assigned Barbara field.
Austrian fast-track
European Lithium chairman Tony Sage said: “The grant of these mining licences further reinforces our belief that Wolfsberg will be the first local producer of battery-grade lithium in Europe to fuel the green energy transition.
"The Wolfsberg Project benefits from Austria’s robust and mature mining industry that reflects many of the aims of the EU’s proposed Critical Raw Materials Act, including a fast track for critical projects like ours.”
Beyond existing resource
Wolfsberg Project tenement map.
EUR’s mining licences now extend beyond the existing Wolfsberg lithium resource and almost double the project’s footprint.
There are now 20 licences covering the Wolfsberg Project, which almost double the footprint for the proposed underground mining operations.
READ: European Lithium buoyed by robust Wolfsberg DFS with NPV of US$1.5 billion and IRR of 33.3%
The licences and extensions flow on from the Wolfsberg Project Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) released in March 2023 in which mine planning and design incorporated an expanded resource.
At the time, EUR identified several mining fields extending outside existing licence areas that had the potential to be mined in the future.
Since the DFS, the company applied for a new mining field, called Barbara, adjacent to the existing mining field called Andreas, which contains 11 mining licences.
The Barbara mining field provides the company with six new licences along with the three extended licences.
READ: European Lithium strengthens critical minerals portfolio on securing Austrian projects with sample grades up to 3.98%
European Lithium has also recently increased its Austrian critical minerals portfolio by securing other projects separate to Wolfsberg which have returned sample grades up to 3.98% and have potential to add to the company’s lithium bounty.
“Significant upside”
“The grant of the new mining licences and licence extensions provides significant upside to mining operations in the future," the company's CEO, Dietrich Wanke, said.
"We are encouraged by this successful grant as we move toward operational readiness of the Wolfsberg Project,” he added.
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