Positive DIA received for Boticas bypass road

Savannah Resources PLC

19 October 2026

 

19 October 2026

Savannah Resources Plc

(AIM: SAV) (‘Savannah’, or the ‘Company’)

Positive DIA received for Boticas bypass road

Critical approval for Project’s development and a major benefit for local stakeholders

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 is very pleased to report that Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente (‘APA’), Portugal’s environmental regulator, has issued a positive conditional Declaration of Environmental Impact (‘DIA’) decision on the proposed Boticas bypass road. The road will help to reduce travel times for everyone in the region and will channel the traffic related to the Project directly to the regional highway. As a national standard road open to the public, it also represents one of the most significant local stakeholder benefits associated with the Project.

Receipt of a positive DIA for the bypass road is one of the key conditions attached to the Project’s own DIA. Hence, this approval brings the construction and operation of the Project another step closer. Importantly, the Project can be commissioned and operated before the bypass road is completed, allowing adequate execution times for both projects and avoiding cross-dependencies.

Highlights

• Design: The c.16.5km new Boticas bypass road will connect the Project’s Northern Access Road, via the regional ER311 road, to the west of Boticas with the A24 highway to the east, creating a new, high quality road around the region’s largest town. The bypass will also connect to two other regional roads (the EN103 and EN312).
• Benefit to the Project: The road, estimated in the Project’s July 2026 Phase 1 Definitive Feasibility Study to cost US$61m to construct, will allow the efficient and safe movement of project-related traffic around Boticas town to the national highway network which connects the Project to multiple Atlantic coast ports.
• Benefit to Stakeholders: The road will also be open to the public, providing a national standard road linking the region with the national highway network. This will remove through traffic from Boticas town and significantly reduce travel times in the region, especially from the villages around the Project to other major towns, hospitals and educational establishments outside of the local area.
• Responding to local needs: The local authority and resident have long identified the need for improved road infrastructure in the area. In addition to the Evaluation Committee, the Municipality of Boticas issued a favourable opinion on the proposal.
• Final route option: Two layout options around Boticas (North and South) were presented by Savannah, with the northern route selected by APA and the Evaluation Committee’s nine other participating bodies.
• Process to date: The decision follows Savannah’s submission of the revised designs and Environmental Impact Assessment for the road in February 2026 and a 30 working day public consultation period (5 June - 17 July 2026), which included an online public session.
• Conditions of the DIA (all customary to such processes and expected) include:
  • Develop the detailed design in accordance with the Northern Alternative presented.
  • Ensure the road is a minimum of 50m away from any groundwater abstraction point.
  • Obtain a ‘Declaration of Essential Public Utility’, if there is a need to cut or cut down cork oaks or holm oaks in stands.
• Next steps: The bypass road environmental licencing process will now move to the RECAPE stage. During this stage Savannah and its consultants will conduct all the necessary monitoring, planning and supporting studies required to generate final designs for the northern route option which meet all the requirements of the conditional DIA.

Commenting on the DIA award, Savannah’s Chief Executive Officer, Emanuel Proença said, “The DIA award for the Boticas bypass road is excellent news for both the Project and local stakeholders and represents a crucial milestone in the Project’s overall development. This is a major piece of new road infrastructure which has long been called for locally and will greatly benefit all in the region by making traffic in Boticas town and throughout the region much faster, more fluid and safer.

“The design and layout draw on industry best practice which has then been scrutinised by the environmental regulator, nine other relevant agencies and institutions and presented to the public. Acceptance in the region, felt on the streets and in public presentation meetings, has been widely positive. The fact that Savannah can contribute this US$61m road to the local area demonstrates the Project’s economic robustness and its ability to provide significant socio-economic benefits to all local stakeholders. Savannah is delighted to be able to make this contribution alongside the many other benefits the Project can bring.

“The remaining licencing process for the road will now proceed along the prescribed path in parallel with Savannah’s ongoing development of the Project itself. We now look forward to reporting on many more exciting milestones over the months ahead.”

Figure 1: The proposed Boticas bypass road (showing the North and South options presented)

Figure 2: Full proposed road layout for the Project including the Boticas bypass road options

Regulatory Information

This Announcement contains inside information for the purposes of the UK version of the market abuse regulation (EU No. 596/2014) as it forms part of United Kingdom domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("UK MAR").

Savannah – Enabling Europe’s energy transition.

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For further information please visit www.savannahresources.com or contact:

Savannah Resources PLC Emanuel Proença, CEO Asa Bridle, Investor Relations António Neves Costa, Media Relations	Tel: [phone] Tel: [phone] Tel: [phone]
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Nominated Adviser & Joint Broker) David Hignell / Charlie Bouverat (Corporate Finance) Grant Barker /Abigail Wayne (Sales & Broking)	Tel: [phone]
Canaccord Genuity Limited (Joint Broker) James Asensio / Rory Blundell / Charlie Hammond (Corporate Broking) Ben Knott (Sales)	Tel: [phone]

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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