Good progress made with fieldwork
Summary by AI BETAClose X
17 September 2026
Savannah Resources Plc
(AIM: SAV) (‘Savannah’, or the ‘Company’)
Good progress made with fieldwork
Savannah Resources Plc, the developer of the Barroso Lithium Project in Portugal (the “Project”), a 'Strategic Project' under the European Critical Raw Materials Act and Europe's largest spodumene lithium deposit, is pleased to report good progress being made on its final construction related field programme ahead of the Project’s future development.
Field programme
- Preparation completed: All access and groundwork has been completed for over 200 geotechnical test pits, 32 geotechnical drill holes and 17 hydrogeological boreholes.
- Geotechnical pits update: 189 pits excavated and logged to date, 23 pits pending excavation and logging.
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Drilling update:
- Geotechnical: 3 holes completed to date at the site of an environmental control reservoir with 1 currently in progress at the site of a water storage reservoir. Approximately 83m have been drilled to date out of a planned 300m.
- Hydrogeological: 14 holes completed to date for a total of 696m out of a planned 800m (separate 40m and 10m holes are planned at each site). The holes are located on the sites of environmental control reservoirs, water storage reservoirs, the Tailings Storage Facility, processing plant site and waste rock dumps.
- Rig count: Two rigs are currently operating on site, a diamond drilling rig for geotechnical investigation, and a down hole hammer percussion drill rig for hydrogeological holes. A third rig will be mobilised shortly following the demobilisation of the hydrogeological rig.
- Sampling and testing: 128 pits have been selected for laboratory testing to date with all results now received. Drill core sampling is ongoing with first deliveries to a geotechnical dedicated lab in Madrid scheduled for later this week. In addition, light weight deflectometer in situ testing on 11 pits will be completed this week, with a further 9 pits awaiting specific ground condition testing.
- Next steps: The third rig is expected to arrive on site next week, following which geotechnical drilling activities will commence in the Tailings Storage Facility area.
John Pereira, Savannah’s Exploration Manager, said: “The team is making good progress with this very important field programme, which will help us confirm ground and groundwater conditions at a range of locations across the Project. Data from this programme will be fed into the detailed engineering work we are undertaking on the Project’s infrastructure including roads, water storage facilities and waste storage areas.
“We expect to have the programme completed in the coming weeks, ahead of the authorisation period granted by the Portuguese State, with remaining results expected from the labs in early Q4. Once this programme is finalised, all the geotechnical and hydrogeological field drilling activity ahead of construction will be done, and all field inputs for RECAPE, FID and construction preparation will be completed. The next planned major work in the field, not related to construction, will be associated to further geological prospection.”
Savannah – Enabling Europe’s energy transition.
**ENDS**
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For further information please visit www.savannahresources.com or contact:
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Savannah Resources PLC Emanuel Proença, CEO Asa Bridle, Investor Relations António Neves Costa, Media Relations
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Tel: +351 963 850 959 Tel: +44 207 117 2489 Tel: +351 962 678 912 |
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SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Nominated Advisor & Joint Broker) David Hignell / Charlie Bouverat (Corporate Finance) Grant Barker /Abigail Wayne (Sales & Broking)
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Tel: +44 20 3470 0470
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Canaccord Genuity Limited (Joint Broker) James Asensio / Rory Blundell / Charlie Hammond (Corporate Broking) Ben Knott (Sales)
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Tel: +44 20 7523 8000
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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 and was approved for a Portuguese State development Grant of up to €110m in January 2026.
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.183,000tpa 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 AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange and trades under the ticker "SAV".
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