Earth:Thacker Pass lithium deposit

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Short description: The most significant lithium- hectorite clay deposit in the US
Thacker Pass Lithium Project
Location
Thacker Pass lithium is located in Nevada
Thacker Pass lithium
Thacker Pass lithium
Nevada
CountryUnited States
Coordinates [ ⚑ ] 41°42′30″N 118°03′43″W / 41.70833°N 118.06194°W / 41.70833; -118.06194[1]
Production
ProductsLithium
History
Openednot yet operational
Owner
CompanyLithium Americas Corp.
WebsiteThacker Pass website

The Thacker Pass lithium deposit, previously called the Kings Valley lithium deposit, is a lithium clay mining development project located in Humboldt County, Nevada.[2][3] The project is located 21 miles (34 km) west-northwest of Orovada, Nevada within the McDermitt Caldera,[4][5] and overlaps with 2866 acres of big sagebrush habitat, as well as known golden eagle breeding sites.[6]

The Thacker Pass lithium project has Proven and Probable Reserves of 179 million tonnes of lithium ore grading 0.33% lithium, being 3.14 million tonnes of Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (LCE).[7][8] As of 2017, the Thacker Pass hectorite deposit was the most significant lithium-clay resource discovered in the U.S.[4] Unlike more conventional brine mining, hectorite clay requires sulfuric acid treatment to separate lithium salts from associated minerals.

In August 2019, Lithium Americas lodged a Plan of Operations for its proposed mining project with the Bureau of Land Management, the federal mining regulator.[9] In January 2020, the company announced the publication of a Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Thacker Pass lithium project.[10]

Protests

On January 15, 2021, BLM issued their Record of Decision approving the Thacker Pass Lithium Mine.[11] Protestors began occupying the site on the same day.[12][13] The Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe, local ranchers, and others have stated that the record of decision was fast-tracked and that the public input process was questionable.[14] Members of the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe have protested the mine, citing threats to land, water, wildlife, hunting and gathering areas, and sacred sites[15] The Fort McDermitt Tribal Council responded to pressure from tribal members by voting unanimously to withdraw from a project engagement agreement with Lithium Americas and also to sue the BLM for violations of federal law in allowing the project to proceed.[15][16]

In early February, 2021, a local rancher filed a lawsuit suing the BLM over concerns about the project's water use.[17] On February 26, 2021, four environmental non-profits (Western Watersheds Project, Great Basin Resource Watch, Basin and Range Watch, and Wildlands Defense) also filed a lawsuit challenging the BLM's permitting of the project, claiming threats to sage grouse habitat, old growth sagebrush, golden eagle nests, endemic springsnails, and Endangered Species Act-listed Lahontan cutthroat trout, bighorn sheep, and pygmy rabbits.[18] [19]

On April 10, 2021, Over 60 people from different reservations in the region came to Thacker Pass to demonstrate their opposition to the mine by praying, dancing, and sharing food with local people and protesters occupying the site. Indigenous people attending that event said there were sacred sites in the area including burials and also a massacre site from which the location derives its name in the Paiute language. They also demonstrated concerns about public health, water quality, air quality, and lack of indigenous consent for the project.[20]

In May, 2021 a group of Ft McDermitt Paiute-Shoshone tribal members calling themselves People of Red Mountain petitioned the United States Department of the Interior and others to halt construction of the lithium mine at Thacker Pass. Their petition states that Thacker Pass is a massacre site, contains ancestral burials, is sacred to their people, and is "essential to the survival of our traditions."[citation needed]

Protesters occupying the site of the proposed mine have concerns about the lack of free, prior, and informed indigenous consent for the project, environmental degradation, human rights violations, and greenwashing of the project.[21][22]

Criticism

Lithium Americas CEO Alexi Zawadzki has criticized the protests and reassured concerns about environmental impact. He argued that exploitation of the Thacker Pass lithium deposit would support President Biden’s economic security goals, provide jobs, and help the U.S. reach greenhouse gas emission targets.[23]

References

  1. ↑ Final Environmental Assessment Western Lithium Corporation Kings Valley Clay Mine (Technical report). March 2014. DOI-BLM-NV-W010-2013-0046-EA. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  2. ↑ "Kings Valley". United States Geological Survey. https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/show-mrds.php?dep_id=1222289. 
  3. ↑ "Global lithium resources". uchile.cl. 2012. http://www.cec.uchile.cl/~dpineda/archivos/Litio_papers/pegmatitaenlitio.pdf. [yes|permanent dead link|dead link}}]
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Bradley, Dwight C.; Stillings, Lisa L.; Jaskula, Brian W.; Munk, LeeAnn; McCauley, Andrew D. (2017). Lithium, Chapter K of Critical Mineral Resources of the United States—Economic and Environmental Geology and Prospects for Future Supply (Report). United States Geological Survey. https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1802/k/pp1802k.pdf. 
  5. ↑ "Public Input Sought for Clay Mine". Reno Gazette-Journal. January 2, 2014. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/42220523/public_input_sought_for_clay_mine_plan/. 
  6. ↑ Thacker Pass Lithium Mine Project Final Environmental Impact Statement (PDF) (Technical report). Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. December 4, 2020. DOI-BLM-NV-W010-2020-0012-EIS. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  7. ↑ Fourie, Louis F.; Peldiak, Daniel (1 May 2018). "Independent Technical Report for the Thacker Pass Project, Humboldt County, Nevada, USA". Burnaby, BC: Advisian. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1440972/000156459018013979/lac-ex991_8.htm. 
  8. ↑ Ehsani, Reza; Fourie, Louis; Hutson, Andrew; Peldiak, Daniel; Spiering, Rob (1 August 2018). "Technical Report on the Pre-feasibility Study for the Thacker Pass Project, Humboldt County, Nevada, USA". Burnaby, BC: Advisian. https://www.lithiumamericas.com/_resources/pdf/investors/technical-reports/thacker-pass/Technical-Report-Thacker-Pass.pdf. 
  9. ↑ Cook, Michelle (October 10, 2019). "$1.3 billion lithium mining project takes shape in rural Northern Nevada". The Humboldt Sun (Winnemucca, NV). https://www.nnbw.com/news/1-3-billion-lithium-mining-project-takes-shape-in-rural-northern-nevada/. 
  10. ↑ Cook, Michelle (January 31, 2020). "$1.3 billion Lithium Nevada project on track for 2020 milestones". Nevada News Group. https://www.nnbw.com/news/1-3-billion-lithium-nevada-project-on-track-for-2020-milestones/. 
  11. ↑ Humboldt River Field Office issues a Record of Decision for the Thacker Pass Lithium Mine, Bureau of Land Management, January 15, 2021, https://www.blm.gov/press-release/humboldt-river-field-office-issues-record-decision-thacker-pass-lithium-mine, retrieved March 16, 2021 
  12. ↑ Wilbert, Max. "Activists Occupy Site of Proposed Lithium Mine in Nevada". protectthackerpass.org. https://www.protectthackerpass.org/article-activists-occupy-site-of-proposed-lithium-mine-in-nevada/. 
  13. ↑ "Blockade sought at lithium site". Elko Daily Free Press. January 25, 2021. https://elkodaily.com/mining/blockade-sought-at-lithium-site/article_d0aebfdd-059e-5610-ba7a-2a9756ec96a3.html. 
  14. ↑ Kapoor, Maya L. (February 18, 2021). "Nevada lithium mine kicks off a new era of Western extraction" (in en-us). High Country News. https://www.hcn.org/issues/53.3/indigenous-affairs-mining-nevada-lithium-mine-kicks-off-a-new-era-of-western-extraction. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Bahouth, Brian (April 8, 2021). "Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone tribal members protest Thacker Pass lithium mine". https://sierranevadaally.org/2021/04/08/fort-mcdermitt-paiute-shoshone-tribal-members-protest-thacker-pass-lithium-mine/. 
  16. ↑ "Press Release: Fort McDermitt Paiute-Shoshone Tribe Cancels Agreement with Lithium Mine, Promising Lawsuit". April 5, 2021. https://www.protectthackerpass.org/press-release-fort-mcdermitt-paiute-shoshone-tribe-cancels-agreement-with-lithium-mine-promising-lawsuit/. 
  17. ↑ Price, Austin (March 4, 2021). "Let's Not Blow Up a Mountain and Call It Green". https://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/articles/entry/lets-not-blow-up-a-mountain-and-call-it-green-thacker-pass-lithium/. 
  18. ↑ Great Basin Resource Watch (February 26, 2021). "Conservation and Public Accountability Groups File Legal Challenge to the Thacker Pass Lithium Mine". http://gbrw.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Thacker-Pass-PR-final.pdf. 
  19. ↑ Sonner, Scott (March 5, 2021). "Federal lawsuit challenges construction of lithium mine approved during Trump's final days". Associated Press. Reno Gazette-Journal. https://www.rgj.com/story/news/2021/03/05/federal-lawsuit-challenges-thacker-pass-lithium-mine-nevada/4601075001/. 
  20. ↑ Bahouth, Brian (April 13, 2021). "Native Americans converge at proposed Thacker Pass lithium mine site: Four audio interviews". Siera Nevada Ally. https://sierranevadaally.org/2021/04/13/native-americans-converge-at-proposed-thacker-pass-lithium-mine-site/. 
  21. ↑ "Thacker Pass Lithium mine approval draws around-the-clock protest". https://sierranevadaally.org/2021/01/19/thacker-pass-lithium-mine-approval-draws-around-the-clock-protest/. 
  22. ↑ Protect Thacker Pass. "Thacker Pass Mine Fact Sheet". protectthackerpass.org. https://www.protectthackerpass.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Fact-Sheet-v3.pdf. 
  23. ↑ Zawadzki, Alexi (April 28, 2021). "Lithium Nevada Corp’s CEO explains the benefits of the Thacker Pass Lithium Project". Sierra Nevada Ally. http://www.sierranevadaally.org/2021/04/28/lithium-americas-ceo-explains-the-benefits-of-the-thacker-pass-lithium-project/. 




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