Spain's lithium mining bid promises jobs, but for whom?

• Proposed lithium mine could power batteries for hundreds of thousands of electric vehicles
• Mining company promises to create job opportunities that critics say are too limited
• Mine proposal is making way through approval process

BARCELONA, Spain - On a sunny winter's day in the valley of Valdeflores, southwest Spain, Gonzalo Palomo filled his truck with freshly harvested green Cacereña olives.

He was hauling them to his farmhouse near the city of Cáceres to be divided into baskets before they are pressed into  oil. While Palomo worked, his 6-year-old son Olmo chased after their two shepherd dogs.

"I want my son to be able to continue to enjoy this land when he's older," Palomo said.

But the valley sits on top of the European Union's second largest hard rock lithium deposit, where a new underground mine is being proposed to tap into its riches.

The proposed San José Lithium Project could provide enough lithium to power some 800,000 electric vehicles a year, according to the mining company Extremadura New Energies which is applying for a license to run it.

But residents worry about the impact on the water supply, air pollution and the threat to endangered wildlife such as the Spanish imperial eagle.

Extremadura New Energies told Context that the mine would consist of an underground passage large enough for heavy machinery, another passage for the ground rock to be extracted, and two tunnels totalling three kilometres in length connecting the mine to a processing plant.

The company - owned by Australian Infinity Lithium - said the mine would not negatively impact nearby water supplies nor generate contamination or noise.

After reviewing the proposal, the government of the autonomous region of Extremadura has requested the company provide more detailed information by June.

Some in Extremadura, which borders Portugal to the west, hope the European Union's demand for lithium — a critical raw material used in everything from electric car batteries to cell phones — could turn the region into a lively hub powering Europe's green energy transition as the bloc works to make its energy system carbon neutral by 2050.

There are few industries in Extremadura, which is struggling with depopulation and a 14% unemployment rate, the fourth highest in Spain.

"Extremadura is eager for industrial and economic development," said Raquel Pastor, director general of the regional government's industry, energy and mining department.

The European Commission has put lithium on the list of critical minerals needed to power the continent's energy transition, lessen its dependence on Chinese minerals and meet its climate goals.

Lithium is a key component of batteries used in electric vehicles, which produce fewer greenhouse gases compared with traditional petrol- or diesel-fueled cars.

The EC's Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) aims to ensure 10% of these minerals is extracted from within Europe by 2030.

The EU wants to speed up permitting for a selection of strategic projects to be announced this month, and the Cáceres project made the initial shortlist.

According to the Basque research institute CIC energiGUNE, 13% of Europe's lithium can be found in Spain, with the largest deposits concentrated in the south. 

While various companies are trying to secure licenses to exploit Spain's lithium, none is currently approved or operational.

Proposed projects have faced intense opposition from critics who cite environmental risks and potential impacts on tourism and agriculture.

Extremadura New Energies said the mine and processing plant would create 1,500 jobs during a two-year construction phase and 700 jobs during its estimated 26 years of operations.

Local union leader Ricardo Salaya Monsell said companies have made similar promises before and not delivered.

"But it's still quality employment that we see as valuable, as long as the necessary (environmental) standards are met," said Salaya, the head of the regional Federation for Industry, Construction and Agriculture at the General Workers Union.

Farmers like Palomo say they want to see the local government invest in the agricultural industry instead.

Agriculture could create as many, but more long-term, local jobs in the next 60 years, according to an upcoming study by the University of Extremadura.

Only about 9% of people in the region work in agriculture - with 73% working in services like tourism and hospitality - and 1,400 workers left the agriculture sector in 2023, according to government data.

"What will happen to workers from Cáceres once the mine shuts down, will they have to leave to find work?" asked Palomo.

"It's not even the average working life of a person."

Mining jobs

Extremadura New Energies CEO Ramón Jiménez Serrano said he was convinced the local population will benefit from its jobs.

The building phase would mainly require construction and assembly workers, he said, while degree-level jobs like administrators and technicians would be created during exploitation.

But others question how much of the work will be suitable for local residents, due to the jobs' highly specialised nature.

"If there's a big industrial project requiring a lot of technical work, there's the risk that they will have to bring in outsiders," said Salaya.

Extremadura New Energies has created online courses, subsidised by the regional government, to train local workers in the production of lithium batteries and renewable energies, and 500 people have taken part so far, Jiménez said.

While the mining company dismisses the risk of pollution, "there is no precedent for any modern, industrial mine that has been operated and closed without environmental contamination,” said Steve Emerman, a U.S. geophysics and mining expert who has testified before the European Parliament on the impacts of mining in the EU.

For Palomo, whose sheep and olives in the wooded pastureland known as Dehesa depend on a pristine environment, the mine is simply not worth it.

"Our ancient Dehesa landscape and centuries-old olive trees are in danger from this short-term, 26-year project," he said.

This story was supported by The Magmatic School of Environmental Journalism.