The head of the mining office solves the most difficult question since the revolution. Will they allow lithium mining?

Since when have you been dealing with Cínovec in connection with the planned lithium mining?
The first permit processes with us are from 2015-17, when we dealt with the determination of the mining area, mining permits and building permits on the tailings dump after the former mining of Sn-W ores for the Cínovecká dump organization and supervised safety during work on exploratory wells for the Geomet organization.

How should lithium mining be different from the coal mining we’ve known here for decades?
They are two completely different processes both in terms of mining technology and in terms of impacts on the territory and the environment. Unlike surface mining of coal, in the case of lithium in Cínovec, it will be realized underground with minimal effects on the surface. This is a completely new project, where the use of the most modern mining and treatment technologies can be expected, which will meet strict criteria for safety and environmental protection.

You talk about minimal effects, but for some people in the vicinity of the planned mine, the water in their wells has allegedly dried up just during the mentioned exploratory wells. What do you think?
The surroundings of Cínovce are affected by recent but also historical mining, there are hundreds of underground mine shafts, even very close below the surface. The entire project of the Geomet organization will be subjected to an environmental impact assessment, including from a hydrogeological point of view. We expect that the result of the assessment will also be preventive measures, including passporting of the surrounding wells, so the situation will be monitored both before the start and during mining. The above regulations have a special regulation of the objective responsibility of the mining organization for damage and an embedded obligation to create financial resources in advance for its possible settlement.

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Are there any risks of land subsidence due to the planned mining in the area?
If such a risk were significant in terms of environmental impact, the conditions for a positive assessment of the project and its impact on the environment and the subsequent mining permit would probably not even be met. The chosen mining and foundation technology will thus be essential, while the Geomet organization has already presented that it wants to put a substantial part of the mined material back into the mined areas.

Miloš MatzSource: OBÚ MostWhat should your district mining office deal with in the case of a large-scale mining project, as well as treatment and transport of lithium?
In general, the authorities of the state mining administration will determine the mining area and authorize mining activities – opening, preparation and mining. It can be expected that processing of the raw material will also be part of it – at least its mechanical separation and magnetic separation. What exactly will be the subject of the mining activity, what will be solved by the planned processing plant at the plant in Újezdeček and how the raw material will be transported will become clear in detail at the time of submitting the plan for environmental impact assessment, i.e. in the EIA process. This is a relatively extensive, technologically and economically demanding project, and we cannot therefore expect exhaustive answers to all these questions at the beginning of this year. From the point of view of our office, these will have to be evident at least during the assessment of the plan as part of the EIA process, where the affected public will also be able to comment on the plan.

By the end of the year, Geomet was supposed to have completed a feasibility study for lithium, but extended the deadline until spring. How important is this document to you?
In our opinion, this document is not so essential for the authorities or the affected public, who have the duty and the right to comment on the documentation that the mining organization must prepare by law, such as the EIA documentation or the Plan of opening, preparation and extraction. These will be essential from the point of view of the permit procedure.

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Do you expect any delays in the whole process even before and then during the administrative procedures for planning permission?
It is a relatively large-scale project, where probably the core part will be focused on the EIA process with the participation of the affected public. Subsequently, proceedings will be held to determine the mining area and to permit mining activity. These proceedings may then be subject to administrative and judicial review, which may take several months.

What will be the role of your office if lithium mining is finally allowed?
Here, in accordance with the objectives of the Mining Act and within the scope of the limited scope, we will exercise supervision over economical and safe mining and check compliance with the conditions of the decisions issued by us. In accordance with the protection of relevant interests, this supervision will be supplemented by the supervision of other state administration bodies, such as environmental inspection or hygiene.

What sanctions does Geomet face if it violates something?
For an administrative offense within the jurisdiction of our office, an organization may be fined up to 5 million.

People from the vicinity of the planned mining and processing of lithium are protesting loudly already. So is it realistic for Geomet to start mining by the end of the 20s as it wants?
This is a really difficult question, which I cannot even answer from the point of view of the scope of our office, because I would anticipate the result, which will be the subject of administrative proceedings, decision-making by our office. The European Union (EU) is currently very keenly aware of its dependence on the import of strategic raw materials, which it needs not only in terms of sustainability and competitiveness, but also in terms of meeting the European goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.

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What do you mean by that?
For example, China supplies the EU with more than 90 percent of the raw materials needed for industry. For us, this dominant position is a huge economic and security risk for the states. The EU is aware of these risks and at the same time perceives that the opening of new deposits of strategic raw materials is a big problem here, and is met with public resistance. For these reasons, the EU is also preparing legislative support for projects to open new deposits with the aim of reducing dependence on the import of strategic raw materials. So it will probably be a matter of measuring not only regional, national, but also European interests, precisely from the point of view of raw material self-sufficiency in the area of ​​critical or even strategic raw materials. This important public interest has already been reflected in the mining regulations, where lithium is classified as a critical raw material.

Many people in Teplice are afraid of lithium, they complain about the lack of information. Do you feel it?
In my opinion, the mining organization is still at a stage where it is necessary to discuss it primarily with experts. I do not want to trivialize the important role of the public in the individual stages of the project. For most mining plans, all relevant information in detail is addressed to the public only as part of the EIA process and in subsequent proceedings. The fact that already today information is presented to the public on such a scale and in advance testifies to the significance, technical and economic demands of the entire process for its investor and its approach to the public in general.

Is Czech resistance to lithium exceptional?
Public opposition to similarly large and much smaller projects is not uncommon throughout the European Union and beyond. Specifically, for example, against mining in the area of ​​Jadar in Serbia, where a relatively significant lithium mining project was postponed due to public opposition. But if Europe wants to be a competitive continent with a certain standard of living, it cannot do without its own raw materials in the future. Therefore, one can see the effort to solve similar resistances of society in a comprehensive way, so that the permitting processes in key projects are faster and more efficient. Of course, while ensuring other public interests and the interests of the affected public.

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There are also doubts whether Geomet will eventually go into mining due to the instability of lithium prices. Do you follow their development?
Talking about lithium prices in the short term is pointless. It is necessary to have such a raw material policy that ensures not only the exploration of the deposits, but also their readiness for mining in case of not only economic needs, but today also from the point of view of security risks. Europe’s dependence on China for raw materials is enormous, international shipping today significantly negatively affects European economies in almost all areas. The Union is aware of this and is preparing legislation for us to be self-sufficient in the critical raw materials we have. The support of local economies and own raw material resources is thus a natural reaction to the events of the last few years.

Every now and then I read about how electric batteries based on other metals are being developed. Will lithium stand up to that competition?
That is a question for a team of experts. Today, the opening of a new quarry or mine is a matter of several years, often even decades. Currently, we are mainly mining or rather re-mining deposits that were opened 30 or more years ago. Technical progress, however, lives at a completely different pace. So I am afraid that the batteries will be produced from the raw materials that we will have available at that time. What kind of raw materials we will have, or even extract, will mainly depend on the tools that will be available to make them available.

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Where else in the world is lithium obtained?
There are significant deposits, for example, in Latin America in countries such as Chile or Bolivia from brines on dry lake surfaces. They are deposits created in a completely different way from the Cínovec deposit, and their mining and processing is different in terms of technology and economics of the entire lithium extraction process. The biggest producers are Australia, Chile, China and Argentina. The new lithium deposit in the USA on the border of Nevada and Oregon is also highly publicized, where possible mining is met with resistance from the Indians, who consider this place sacred.

Have you dealt with anything as fundamental as lithium lately?
Mining of ores ended in 1990 in almost the entire republic. Since then, we have no comparison here with a similar intention.

What do you do when you’re not dealing with lithium?
Very briefly and in layman’s terms, we permit and then supervise mining operations in the Ústí Region – for example, coal quarries, stone quarries, sand quarries, mining of kaolin or brick clay. We allow blasting in quarries or excavation in the case of tunnels. We are the administrator of payment for the use of exclusive state deposits or solve administrative offenses in the area of ​​economic and safe use of deposits. Ensuring the protection of existing deposits in cooperation with other authorities is an important part of our activity. An important task that we are currently solving is also the necessary digitization.

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