Portugal launches €400 million Aljustrel mine upgrade and new 28 MW solar farm

Prime Minister Luís Montenegro inaugurated a €400 million investment at the Aljustrel copper‑zinc mine in Beja district. The project, called “Feeding the Global Energy Transition”, expands the mine’s industrial capacity to process six million tonnes of copper and zinc each year, adds a photovoltaic unit that can generate more than 40,000 MWh annually, and received about €128 million from the national recovery plan. The operator, ALMINA, also outlined plans to invest €150 million over four years in a new Gavião deposit and to pursue experimental exploration at the Albernoa site.

In the northern municipality of Trofa, a €24 million solar park was commissioned in the parish of Muro. The 28.37‑MWp facility, built by independent producer BNZ, comprises 50,000 panels, is expected to generate 43.68 GWh per year, avoid roughly 4,890 tonnes of CO₂ emissions, and supply electricity to about 4,500 Portuguese households.