European Metals Holdings advances Environmental Impact Assessment for the Cinovec Lithium Project in the Czech Republic, with potential capex savings of up to $110 million identified through plant design optimisation
European Metals Holdings Limited (ASX and AIM: EMH) has published its quarterly activities report for the period ending 30 June 2026, reporting material progress on the Cinovec Lithium Project in the Czech Republic, one of Europe's most strategically significant hard-rock lithium deposits. The key regulatory milestone during the quarter was the completion of a public hearing on 17 June 2026 as part of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, overseen by the Czech Ministry of Environment. No substantial new objections were raised by local stakeholders at the hearing. The EIA process is expected to conclude by end-2026, after which the project company, Geomet s.r.o., will be eligible to apply for both a Mining Permit and a Construction Permit. These permits are required before underground mine construction can begin. On the technical and commercial side, two significant optimisation developments were announced. First, redesign of the Lithium Chemical Plant (LCP) flowsheet could reduce major reagent consumption by $51 million per annum and power consumption in post-roast filtration by more than 25%, equivalent to a further $3.4 million per annum saving. Second, testwork on a tunnel kiln design suggests a potential switch from two gas-fired rotary kilns to a single gas or electric tunnel kiln, with preliminary estimates of capital expenditure (capex) reductions of between and operating cost (opex) reductions of . Combined with the LCP optimisation, total opex savings could reach . The company's total cash as at 30 June 2026 was , and the updated Definitive Feasibility Study () incorporating these optimisations is targeted by end-2026. The tunnel kiln option also allows the project to run on green power supplied by project partner .