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As the public debate ends on the mine project at Echassières (Allier), should we let the hundreds of thousands of tonnes of lithium contained in its granite lie dormant? Or secure supplies for battery factories under construction in Hauts-de-France? asks Cédric Philibert, associate researcher at Ifri (1).
The Imerys company’s plan to open a lithium mine in Echassières, in Allier, on the site of a kaolin quarry that it operates, is causing debate. This debate is organized by the national commission for public debate, as for any investment of this magnitude. The public meetings held over the last few weeks have made it possible to gradually identify the main arguments and main points, and the positions of the various actors.
Some of the future neighbors of the mine or related installations are concerned about possible visual or auditory nuisances. Fishermen, farmers and environmentalists fear waste of water resources and possible pollution of groundwater. The mine asks “a lot of water”, says Antoine Gatet, president of France Nature Environnement (Release of March 10, 2024).
But more radical oppositions are expressed. What is the point of extracting lithium? What’s the point of making electric cars if it’s to perpetuate the car? The historian Jean-Baptiste Fressoz questions himself in the world : “Where does this idea come from that, to save the climate, we absolutely must open mines?” What is the point, in fact, since “the electric car only reduces emissions by 60%
