Dismissal of Legal Claim
Summary by AI BETAClose X
21 October 2025
Savannah Resources Plc
(AIM: SAV) ('Savannah', or the 'Company')
Dismissal of Legal Claim
Dismissal of another legal claim made in relation to the Project
Savannah Resources Plc, the developer of the Barroso Lithium Project in Portugal, a 'Strategic Project' under the European Critical Raw Materials Act and Europe's largest spodumene lithium deposit (the 'Project'), is pleased to provide an update on another positive legal judgement made recently in relation to the Project.
The Administrative and Tax Court of Mirandela has dismissed the case brought by the Parish Council of Covas do Barroso (the 'Parish Council') in April 2023 (see 5 April 2023 RNS) against the Ministry of Environment, in which Savannah was named as a counterparty. The claim aimed to have the 2016 Barroso Mine Concession Agreement (the 'Concession') annulled.
The Court's ruling confirms unequivocal validity and conformity of the Concession. The claimant has the option to appeal to the Central Administrative Court.
This decision represents the eighth consecutive positive judgment for Savannah out of eight total decisions made across initial court rulings, appeals and injunctions (See Table 1 for further details).
There are now four[1] remaining ongoing court cases in relation to the Project (see table 3 below for further details). None of the four cases affect Savannah's progress with the Project. In two of the cases, the legal opinions state that they are, like the cases which have been dismissed, without merit.
The third case relates to disputed borders on small packages of land (8 hectares in total) purchased by Savannah from private landowners ('Land Borders Dispute', see table 3 below for further details and 25 July 2022 RNS). The impact of a possible ruling against the landowners involved would be likely limited to minor revisions to the borders of the land involved. If this occurred, it would have no material impact on the development of the Project.
The remaining case is a claim submitted by Savannah against the Covas Baldios, where Savannah requests acknowledgement that it has been fulfilling all its legal and contractual obligations in the lease of a portion of the Baldios property, located in the NOA area, currently under exploitation.
Savannah's Chief Executive Officer, Emanuel Proença, said, "We welcome the clear judgement made by the Court in this case, which reiterates the strong legal framework which underpins our Project. It is a shame that we have to go through these baseless cases, which are consistently brought by the same small group of claimants, which, we believe, do not represent the views of all local stakeholders. However, we must accept the right to opposition, even when it is used inappropriately, and could potentially result in legal consequences for the claimants. It is good to see that with each decision the confirmation of the merits of our team's work to date is further reinforced.
"As stated previously, we know that we face strong scrutiny, and for that reason we are even more diligent in our efforts, which is in itself a reassurance for all our shareholders. Savannah continues to advance the Project with confidence and determination, and with a firm commitment to the strict legality of all processes and operations it carries out."
Additional information
Table 1: Summary of rulings in legal cases brought in Portugal in relation to the Project
|
Case |
Case Summary |
Plaintiff |
Defendants |
Counter Interested Parties |
Sentence/Ruling (Court) |
|
C-100 Mining License Amendments (Commenced Jan 2022) - Lawsuit 39/22.5BEMDL |
Claim aimed to declare null the administrative acts regarding the Exploitation of the "Mina do Barroso" Project, signed in 2016, invoking administrative irregularities performed by the Ministry of Economy. |
Parish of Covas do Barroso |
Ministry of Economy |
Savannah |
Dismissed (Feb 2023) due to lack of passive procedural illegitimacy (Fiscal and Administrative Court of Mirandela). |
|
C-100 Mining License Amendments (Commenced Apr 2023) - Lawsuit 132/23.7BEMDL |
Repetition of the above case |
Parish of Covas do Barroso |
Ministry of Environment |
Savannah |
Dismissed (Sep 2025) as Court agreed with the legal arguments presented by the Ministry and the Company (Fiscal and Administrative Court of Mirandela). |
|
Land Borders Dispute (Commenced Jun 2022) - Injunction presented in Jan 2024 (Lawsuit nº 1031/225T8VRL) |
Injunction presented by the Covas Baldios, requesting the Court to forbid Savannah to work in areas under dispute. |
Baldios of Covas do Barroso |
Savannah and 6 other private owners |
N/A |
Injunction not approved (Feb 2024). The Court did not attend to the request presented by the Covas Baldios and did not forbid Savannah to work in the disputed areas (Vila Real Judicial Court). |
|
Injunction against the Temporary Land Easement (Commenced in Feb 2025) - Lawsuit 36/25.9BEMDL |
Claim aimed to declare null the administrative acts regarding the Temporary Land Easement, made official by the Government on 6 Dec 2024 |
3 Private Landowners |
Ministry for the Environment |
Savannah, DGEG, Covas Parish, Baldios and the other private owners in the Temporary Easement Process |
Case dismissed (Sep 2025) due to the supervening futility of the dispute as the field work had already been completed (Fiscal and Administrative Court of Mirandela). |
|
Contestation of the Grounded Resolution that lifted the works suspension under the Land Easement (Commenced in Mar 2025) - Lawsuit 36/25.9BEMDL |
Claim aimed to revoke the Grounded Resolution issued by the Portuguese Government and also intended to sanction Savannah for allegedly executing works during the suspension period |
3 Private Landowners |
Ministry for the Environment |
Savannah, DGEG, Covas Parish, Baldios and the other private owners in the Temporary Easement Process |
Contestation rejected (Apr 2025) by the court which considered the request presented by the plaintiffs to be unfounded (Fiscal and Administrative Court of Mirandela). |
|
Appeal against ruling given in Lawsuit 36/25.9BEMDL (see above) |
Appeal against ruling given in Apr 2025 (see above) |
3 Private Landowners |
Ministry for the Environment |
Savannah, DGEG, Covas Parish, Baldios and the other private owners in the Temporary Easement Process |
Appeal rejected (Sep 2025). (Central Administrative Fiscal Court). |
|
Criminal complaint for assault to a former Savannah employee (Commenced December 2021) - Lawsuit 81-21.3GABTC |
Claim aimed to condemn Mr. Nelson Gomes, President of Associação Unidos em Defesa de Covas do Barroso, for assault against a former Savannah employee |
Former Savannah employee |
Mr. Nelson Gomes |
|
Mr. Nelson Gomes found guilty of the charges presented and sentenced to pay a fine, compensation to Savannah's former employee, and court costs (May 2025). (Vila Real Judicial Court). |
|
Defamation |
Mr. Nelson Gomes accused Savannah of defamation in relation to the accusation made against him in Lawsuit 81-21.3GABT (see above) |
Mr. Nelson Gomes |
Savannah |
N/A |
Case dismissed following the ruling against Mr. Gomes in Lawsuit 81-21.3GABT (May 2025). (Vila Real Judicial Court). |
Table 2: Summary of a case submitted to the Compliance Committee of the UNECE's Aarhus Convention (the 'Convention') on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters in relation to the Barroso lithium mining project located in the municipality of Boticas
|
Case |
Case Summary |
Communicant |
The Party Concerned |
Observers |
Findings, Recommendations & Responses |
|
Alleged failure of Portugal to comply with its obligations under certain articles of the UNECE's Aarhus Convention in relation to the Barroso lithium mining project (Commenced May 2021) |
The communicant alleged that access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in Environmental Matters under articles 4 (1), (2), (3)(c) and (7) and 6 (3) and (4) of the Aarhus Convention and legislation has not been respected. The violations included actions by organisations such as the APA, DGEG, CCDR-N, and Savannah |
The Spanish non-profit organisation, Fundação Montescola |
Portuguese Government |
Municipal Council of Boticas, MiningWatch Portugal, Associação Unidos em Defesa de Covas do Barroso |
The Convention's Compliance Committee found that the Party concerned had failed to comply with certain articles of the Aarhus Convention and recommended that it undertake the necessary legislative, regulatory, administrative and practical measures to ensure its compliance with the Convention going forward (Aug 2025). There were no recommendations made specifically in relation to the Barroso Lithium Project.
Responses from Portuguese entities: Portugal's Environment Agency (APA) published a response in which it stated, "Overall, this project had the longest public consultation period, longer than any other project subject to EIA, with 60 + 20 working days, totaling 114 calendar days of Public Consultation in the same procedure. (…)compliance with the EIA procedure and much less with the Public Consultation is not at issue, but merely a divergent interpretation by the Convention Compliance Committee regarding the application of Article 4, paragraph 3, of the Aarhus Convention and Article 6 of Law No. 26/2016, of 22 August [of Portugal]."
The North Portugal Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR-N) also published a response in which it stated, "CCDR NORTE reaffirms that it has always acted transparently, rigorously, and in compliance with national legislation, respecting its responsibilities within the scope of the Environmental Impact Assessment procedure. Its actions have been validated by CADA's (the Commission for Access to Administrative Documents) opinions and are within the applicable legal limits". |
Table 3: Summary of current legal claims brought in Portugal relating to the Project
|
Case |
Case Summary |
Plaintiff |
Defendants |
Counter Interested Parties |
Status (Court) |
|
Land Borders Dispute (Commenced Jun 2022) - Lawsuit 1031/22.5T8VRL |
Claim aims to challenge the registration of certain areas and limits of certain parcels of 6 land properties in the C-100 licence area |
Baldios of Covas do Barroso |
Savannah and 6 other private owners |
N/A |
Waiting for a Preliminary Hearing (Vila Real Judicial Court) |
|
Lease Dispute (Commenced Feb 2025) - Lawsuit 293/25.0T8CHV |
Claim submitted by Savannah to confirm that it has been fulfilling all its legal and contractual obligations under the lease agreement entered into with the Baldios of Covas do Barroso. |
Savannah |
Baldios of Covas do Barroso |
N/A |
Preliminary hearing scheduled for 10 Dec 2025 (Vila Real Judicial Court). |
|
Administrative Claim Against the favorable DIA (Commenced Sep 2023) - Lawsuit 302-23.8BEMDL |
Claim aims to declare null the administrative acts regarding the Declaration of Impact Assessment, issued by APA on 30 May 2023 |
Parish of Covas do Barroso |
Ministry of Environment and APA |
Savannah |
All the Defendants, including Savannah, have now lodged their defences, and the case is awaiting further proceedings (Fiscal and Administrative Court of Mirandela).
Based on the opinion from our legal advisers this case is without merit. |
|
Administrative Claims against the Temporary Land Easement (Commenced in Feb 2025) - Lawsuits 94/25.69BEMDL / 95/25.69BEMDL / 96/25.69BEMDL |
Claim aims to declare null the administrative acts regarding the Temporary Land Easement, made official by the Government on 6 December 2024 |
3 different lawsuits, with the same arguments, presented by: 1. 3 Private Landowners 2. Baldios of Covas do Barroso 3. Parish of Covas do Barroso |
Ministry for the Environment |
Savannah, DGEG, Covas Parish, Baldios and the other private owners in the Temporary Easement Process |
After dismissing the injunction, the Court agreed to collate the 3 lawsuits into a single case. Preliminary Hearing awaited (Fiscal and Administrative Court of Mirandela).
Based on the opinion from our legal advisers this case is without merit. |
Savannah - Enabling Europe's energy transition.
**ENDS**
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For further information please visit www.savannahresources.com or contact:
|
Savannah Resources PLC Emanuel Proença, CEO |
Tel: +44 20 7117 2489
|
|
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Nominated Advisor & Broker) David Hignell/ Charlie Bouverat (Corporate Finance) Grant Barker/Abigail Wayne (Sales & Broking)
|
Tel: +44 20 3470 0470
|
|
Canaccord Genuity Limited (Joint Broker) James Asensio / Charlie Hammond (Corporate Broking) Ben Knott (Sales) |
Tel: +44 20 7523 8000
|
|
Media Relations Savannah Resources: Antonio Neves Costa, Communications Manager |
Tel: +351 962 678 912 |
About Savannah
Savannah Resources is a mineral resource development company and the sole owner of the Barroso Lithium Project (the 'Project') in northern Portugal. The Project is the largest battery grade spodumene lithium resource outlined to date in Europe and was classified as a 'Strategic Project' by the European Commission under the Critical Raw Materials Act in March 2025.
Through the Project, Savannah will help Portugal to play an important role in providing a long-term, locally sourced, lithium raw material supply for Europe's lithium battery value chain. Once in operation the Project will produce enough lithium (contained in c.190,000tpa of spodumene concentrate) for approximately half a million vehicle battery packs per year and hence make a significant contribution towards the European Commission's Critical Raw Material Act goal of a minimum 10% of European endogenous lithium production from 2030.
Savannah is focused on the responsible development and operation of the Barroso Lithium Project so that its impact on the environment is minimised and the socio-economic benefits that it can bring to all its stakeholders are maximised.
The Company is listed and regulated on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) and trades under the ticker "SAV".
[1] Operation Influencer is not one of these cases as neither Savannah nor any of its directors or employees are defendants (termed as "arguidos" in Portuguese) in this investigation which was initiated by the Public Prosecutor's Office in 2023.
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