On 12 January 2017, the Government approved, through the Council of Ministers, the draft renewal of the concession contract between the Portuguese State and EDM – Empresa de Desenvolvimento Mineiro for the pursuit of environmental recovery activities in degraded mining areas for a period of seven years.

This measure thus permits the continuation of the action plan that has been under implementation since 2001. The works are progressively eliminating the impacts of mining activities, reducing the risks to public health and ecosystems and providing better conditions for future land use and acceptance by local communities of activities related to the exploitation of geological resources.