Portugal's government hopes to launch a long-delayed tender for lithium prospecting licenses this year, the Environment Minister said on Tuesday, promising to ensure that local communities, some of which have opposed mining, share in the benefits.

With 60 000 tonnes of reserves, Portugal is Europe's top lithium producer, selling largely to the ceramics industry and has only recently sought to produce battery-grade lithium.

The shift is seen as key to building a domestic lithium value chain and cutting Europe's reliance on imports, but local communities and environmental groups have opposed early projects.

Environment Minister Maria da Graca Carvalho told Reuters the government "is working to have a strategy in place by the summer" for new mining that will prioritise "the involvement of local communities, ensuring projects' wealth stays in the country, is shared regionally, and generates local jobs".

"We are looking at good practices in other countries, but we are working quickly. The tender could be launched this year," she said.

The tender was first planned for 2018, but suffered long delays as several consecutive governments collapsed. The current minority administration was elected in March 2025.

Portugal's environmental agency APA has already given its initial approval to lithium extraction at the Barroso mine, owned by London-based company Savannah Resources SAVS.L, and to the Montalegre mine of the local firm Lusorecursos.

Commenting on a different subject, Graca Carvalho said she was optimistic about negotiations between Portuguese energy firm Galp and private equity-backed Moeve to combine their oil refining businesses into one of Europe's largest refiners with a combined capacity of 700 000 barrels per day.

The state holds a stake of around 8% in Galp.

"The government will assess the deal, but it would give Galp significant critical mass, [and] would create a very large company at both Iberian and global level, which matters even more in today's energy sector," she said.