Dutch miner AMG Critical Materials is exploring investment opportunities for lithium processing facilities in both Brazil and Portugal in a push to establish a "fully Western" supply chain.
AMG is one of the few companies in the western hemisphere with lithium refining capacity, running a hydroxide refinery in Germany fed by spodumene from its Brazilian mine, board member Michael Connor told Argus. Still, the concentrate must be sent to China for processing, where its purity is enhanced to around 100pc from 6pc — then back to Germany for refining.
The Dutch firm said it wants to reduce its reliance on China, which dominates the global spodumene midstream, by building lithium processing capacity in Brazil and Portugal.
AMG is the second-largest spodumene producer in Brazil and the top shareholder in Savannah Resources, which is developing the Barroso project in Portugal, slated to be Europe's largest lithium mine with over 39mn metric tonnes (t) of reserves. Processing lithium nearer to its extraction sites would cut costs by avoiding back-and-forth shipments to China.
The company's objective is to continue building — in phases — an integrated upstream supply chain in Brazil to support its refining activities in Europe, Connor said. Brazilian authorities, including President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and critical minerals association AMC, have repeatedly called for companies to integrate critical minerals supply chains by investing in midstream processing capacity in Brazil.
Such incentives, added to Brazil's legal stability, make it an attractive country for critical minerals, Connor noted.
"The strength of the resource base, existing industrial capabilities, and an increasing policy focus on value-added processing all support the case for longer-term investment," he said.
As for Portugal, it offers close proximity to AMG's German refinery, helping streamline logistics and lower costs. The Barroso project is scheduled to come on line in 2028.
AMG is still assessing timelines, configurations and sequencing, so it is still unclear whether a midstream plant will come first in Europe or Brazil and what its nameplate capacities will be.
Its German refinery is expected to complete its ramp-up and reach its 20,000 t/yr nameplate lithium hydroxide capacity by the end of this year.
