European Metals’ $417M Cinovec funding: project finance lens for mine planners
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan

First reported on MINING.com
30 Second Briefing
European Metals Holdings’ Cinovec lithium-tin project in the Czech Republic has secured a €390 million (US$417 million) grant commitment, one of the largest direct project-level funding packages for critical raw materials in Europe. The underground project, located near the German border in the Krušné Hory/Erzgebirge region, targets hard-rock lithium hosted in zinnwaldite mica and is planned to supply battery-grade lithium chemicals to EU gigafactories. The funding materially de-risks project finance and signals strong EU backing for domestic lithium supply chain development.
Technical Brief
- Funding commitment is described as one of the largest single-project awards for EU critical raw materials.
- Scale of this grant sets a reference point for future EU critical mineral project funding packages.
Our Take
Cinovec is one of the few EU-based lithium assets in our database tagged as a major Financing event, signalling that Brussels and member states are starting to back specific projects rather than just issuing critical raw materials policy papers.
Among our recent lithium-tagged Mining pieces, most large financings have been in Australia and the Americas, so a Czech project of this scale suggests the EU is trying to internalise more of the battery supply chain rather than relying on imports.
For a critical raw materials project in central Europe, grant-scale support at Cinovec is likely to improve bankability and lower the cost of capital, which can make downstream conversion or refining investments in the Czech Republic more feasible than in jurisdictions without similar public funding.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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