"Lithium: The Czech Republic's 'white gold' rush"

Europe's biggest lithium deposit is located in the Czech Republic. The government in Prague recently outlined plans to boost the country's economy by mining and processing the resource. Not everyone is keen on the idea. [...]

When Fiala laid out his vision for the development of the country over the next 30 years in early September, he listed six areas in which he feels the Czech Republic will have to make strategic investments. Lithium and the investment in its extraction and processing were the most surprising of these areas.

"Lithium is a key raw material for e-mobility, especially for battery storage. This is why we are working on starting extraction as soon as possible, ideally in the year 2026," he said. [...]

"But much depends on the general conditions that are negotiated before extraction actually begins," he told DW. "We all have vivid memories of the consequences of coal mining in the region. The communities must receive appropriate compensation for any negative impact and deterioration in living conditions." [...]

But some experts warn against the region moving from one type of mining to another. They recommend investing the money in education and a general restructuring of the regional economy instead.

Professor Michal Kolecko of Jan Evangelista Purkyne University in Usti nad Labem, is a vocal opponent of the lithium extraction plans. "I don't think that lithium is the right way to go," he told DW. "If we want to change the region and to give it a new future, we have to opt for root-and-branch change. We have to invest in sectors that have potential and give the region not only an economic future, but also change the social structure and education level of the population."

Concern about environmental impact

Opinion in and around Cinovec is divided. When a town hall meeting between citizens and representatives of CEZ was held in nearby Dubi on September 7, the hall was filled to capacity. According to Czech radio, locals are most concerned about the threat to their water supply and a deterioration in air quality as a result of the transportation of the mined raw material.

As is the case with the extraction of all non-renewable resources, the mining of lithium will have an impact on the environment.

In South America's "Lithium Triangle," which includes parts of Argentina, Bolivia and Chile and holds about 70% of global lithium reserves, groundwater levels sank considerably in some areas when lithium-rich brine was pumped to the surface. The careless actions of some companies also led to the pollution of air, water and soil in some areas.

In Cinovec, lithium would be extracted from ore. The method required to mine lithium there is water intensive. It also consumes much more energy and is more expensive than extraction from salt lakes.

According to CEZ, the approval procedure for lithium extraction will begin at the end of 2023. But the company seems to have no doubts about the outcome of the procedure: It has already spent one billion Czech crowns (€40.8 million or $43.5 million) buying a plot of land for a lithium processing plant.