Aljustrel mine gets €400 million upgrade to double processing

Portugal's prime minister, Luís Montenegro, inaugurated a project worth over €400 million at the Aljustrel mine, run by ALMINA, aimed at boosting industrial capacity and energy sustainability. Developed over five years and partly funded by €128 million from the Recovery and Resilience Plan, it expanded the mine's processing plant to treat six million tonnes of copper and zinc annually, and added a solar power unit for self-consumption. ALMINA's chairman said the company is awaiting environmental approval to invest a further €150 million in a new copper deposit, and criticised legislative delays affecting exploration permits.