Portugal's Cabinet has greenlit a €400M industrial expansion at the Aljustrel mine in the Alentejo, positioned to be inaugurated in June 2026, positioning the nation as a frontrunner in Europe's race for critical minerals and marking one of the largest private-sector investments in Portuguese mining this decade. The move arrives as the European Union scrambles to secure domestic supplies of copper and zinc—metals essential for electric vehicles, renewable energy grids, and semiconductor manufacturing.
Why This Matters
• Capacity doubled: The mine will process 6 million tonnes of copper and zinc ore annually, up from 3 million tonnes previously, feeding supply chains across automotive and energy sectors.
• PRR funding deployed: The project drew €128M from Portugal's Recovery and Resilience Plan, one of the largest allocations to a single industrial site.
• Energy self-sufficiency: A new 40,000 MWh solar array powers mine operations, cutting reliance on grid electricity and reducing carbon intensity.
• Strategic timeline: The five-year build-out, initiated in 2021 and culminating in the planned June 2026 inauguration, will be led by Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, who frames the investment as a pillar of national economic sovereignty.
• Direct employment: The expansion is expected to create 400 to 500 direct jobs at ALMINA and support additional positions through supply chains, plus the 50 to 60 jobs from EPIROC's mining-equipment repair workshop announced in February 2021.
A Five-Year Build in the Iberian Pyrite Belt
The "Feeding the Global Energy Transition" project, executed by ALMINA – Minas do Alentejo, represents the most ambitious upgrade to the Aljustrel complex since the Portuguese state acquired it in 2009. Nestled in the Iberian Pyrite Belt—a geological formation spanning southern Portugal and Spain that has yielded minerals since the Bronze Age—the site will host expanded processing facilities, modernized secondary crushing equipment (completed in May 2024), and rooftop photovoltaic infrastructure.
The €400M investment breakdown includes: the €11M secondary-crushing facility designed to reduce fugitive dust, the 40,000 MWh solar array, expanded ore stockpiling areas, modernized separation and flotation circuits, and water-treatment infrastructure. These new facilities represent the core of the capacity upgrade from the current 3 million tonnes to 6 million tonnes annually.
Humberto Costa Leite, chairman of ALMINA's board, told reporters the investment places the company "on the front line of modern mining," a reference to the dual mandate of ramping up output while meeting EU environmental, social, and governance (ESG) benchmarks. The solar installation alone will generate enough electricity to cover a significant share of on-site energy demand, a critical metric as Brussels tightens carbon-disclosure rules for industrial operators.
The mine's output will feed a constellation of European manufacturers. Copper concentrate travels to smelters in Spain and Germany, while zinc and lead concentrates—bearing traces of silver—move under a streaming agreement with Wheaton Precious Metals, which retains rights to silver extracted from zinc and lead ores. The arrangement, formalized in 2018 and amended that year to adjust royalty rates, underscores the site's integration into global commodity flows.
What This Means for Residents and Local Economy
For the 7,500 residents of Aljustrel municipality, the expansion brings concrete economic benefits alongside ongoing concerns. Direct employment at ALMINA will grow to several hundred workers, complemented by the EPIROC workshop's 50 to 60 jobs and indirect employment across logistics, equipment supply, and services. Local officials estimate the expanded operation will generate an additional €2 to 3M annually in municipal tax revenue, funding improvements to water infrastructure, schools, and local roads over the next decade.
The investment is expected to deliver tangible community improvements: the air-monitoring station will be operational by December 2026, with real-time data published online and accessible to residents. The completed €11M secondary-crushing facility (finished May 2024) is already reducing fugitive dust at the surface compared to previous operations.
Yet the industrial scale has also amplified community grievances. Residents have for years reported daily tremors from controlled blasting, with doors, windows, and masonry shaking during shift changes. A 2024 independent vibrational study commissioned by ALMINA concluded that seismic levels remain within legal thresholds and pose no structural risk to buildings, but locals continue to demand municipal oversight and third-party monitoring.
Air quality remains a flashpoint. A University of Coimbra report in 2021 found that PM10 particulate concentrations and airborne arsenic in Aljustrel exceeded statutory limits, despite dust-suppression measures. In response, the Aljustrel Municipal Council and the Regional Coordination and Development Commission of Alentejo (CCDR Alentejo) will install a permanent air-monitoring station by December 2026, with real-time data published online, allowing residents to track improvements in air quality as new facilities become operational.
The municipal council has pressed for regular public forums, quarterly vibrational reports, and health screenings for residents living within 500 meters of the pit edge. ALMINA committed in April to fund a community liaison office and publish monthly air-quality and seismic data, moves that may set a template for other operators as Portugal scales up extraction.
Environmental remediation remains a long-term project. Decades of unregulated tailing disposal left 350,000 cubic meters of contaminated soil and 120,000 square meters of exposed slag heaps, leaching acidic runoff into nearby streams. ALMINA has earmarked funds to cap and revegetate spoil piles and upgrade leachate-treatment systems, with full restoration expected to stretch into the 2030s.
Portugal's Critical-Minerals Gambit
The Aljustrel expansion fits a broader national strategy to capture value from the EU Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), which sets 2030 targets of 10% domestic extraction, 40% processing, and 25% recycling of strategic minerals across the bloc. Portugal aims to supply 10% of the EU's domestic extraction quota by decade's end, leveraging its geology and Atlantic shipping access.
The country ranks as the EU's largest lithium producer and holds the 7th position for copper and 2nd for zinc within the Union. The Neves-Corvo mine, operated by Lundin Mining farther south in the Alentejo, is one of four Portuguese sites the European Commission has designated as a Strategic Project under the CRMA. The Barroso Lithium Project in the north has earned the same badge, underscoring Brussels' recognition of Portugal's geological endowment.
Mining output demonstrated growth momentum in recent years, and the non-ferrous-metals sector generated strong revenue figures, placing Portugal 8th in Europe by mining revenue. The GEO PT 2035 strategy—a national roadmap for geological resources—identifies seven thematic pillars, from mineral prospecting to abandoned-mine rehabilitation, with a parallel National Prospecting Program 2025–2030 funding geochemical surveys and drill campaigns.
Licensing auctions for additional lithium tenements are slated for 2025, and ALMINA itself has two exploration applications pending: the "Bispa" prospect (8.57 km² targeting zinc, lead, gold, silver, copper, and tin) and the "Albernoa" block (copper, zinc, lead, gold, and associated metals). Public consultation for Bispa closed on July 6, with environmental-impact statements expected by autumn.
The Infrastructure and Energy Angle
Beyond ore throughput, the Aljustrel project signals a pivot toward vertically integrated, low-carbon industrial clusters. The 40 GWh annual solar output not only trims operating costs but also positions ALMINA to participate in green-certificate markets and potentially supply surplus power to the regional grid. As the National Energy and Climate Plan (PNEC 2030) ramps up renewable-capacity mandates, co-locating heavy industry with on-site generation becomes a blueprint for other operators.
The mine's Atlantic corridor location offers logistical advantages. Concentrate trucks reach the Port of Sines—Europe's deepest container and bulk terminal—in under two hours, shaving freight costs and carbon miles compared to overland routes through central Europe. The government has earmarked infrastructure funds to widen the N260 arterial road and upgrade rail spurs, aiming to shift more tonnage from road to rail by 2027.
Historical Context and Ownership Timeline
Aljustrel's ore bodies—Feitais, Moinho, Algares, São João, Estacão, and Gavião—have been mined intermittently since antiquity. The Société Anonyme Belge des Mines d'Aljustrel operated the complex until nationalization in 1975. After decades of state control, the Canadian firm EuroZinc acquired the concession in 2001, and Lundin Mining took over in October 2006, restarting production in December 2007. The 2008 financial crisis triggered a suspension, and in 2009 the Portuguese group I'M Mining bought the site, rebranding it as ALMINA.
The current expansion, initiated in 2021 and financed through a combination of PRR grants, commercial debt, and equity, represents the first major capital cycle since the Portuguese acquisition. By contrast, the neighboring Neves-Corvo operation has remained under continuous foreign ownership, highlighting divergent paths within the national mining sector.
Balancing Growth and Accountability
Prime Minister Montenegro, speaking at the June 2026 inauguration, will frame the investment as a test case for "reindustrialization with a green signature," tying the project to Portugal's ambitions of becoming a hub for integrated clean-tech value chains. Yet the friction in Aljustrel underscores the social compact required to sustain heavy industry in small towns: jobs and revenue on one side, environmental vigilance and transparency on the other.
Whether the Aljustrel model—state co-investment, on-site renewables, and stakeholder engagement—proves replicable will shape the trajectory of Portugal's mining revival. With Brussels raising critical-mineral targets and China still dominating processing, the strategic calculus extends beyond tonnage to security of supply, industrial resilience, and the terms under which Europe rebuilds its material base.
