Lithium Americas Corp (LAAC)

[jbsliverer]

The Thacker Pass lithium mine project north of Winnemucca came closer to becoming a reality Friday when the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection issued three permits for the project: the Water Pollution Control Permit, Mine Reclamation Permit and Class II Air Quality Operating Permit.

Lithium Americas Corp. said in a press release that these are “the final key state-level permits for the Thacker Pass lithium project.”

The comment periods on these three permits closed in November and December. With some permit requests, NDEP may issue a decision on the permits within a couple weeks of the close of the comment period, but the Thacker Pass project inspired a lot of comments, and NDEP added a couple extra weeks to allow for additional public input and spent some extra time doing their review.

“NDEP conducted extensive reviews of the mine site plan, verified the air models and calculations for the Class II Air Quality Operating Permit, assessed required bonding for land disturbance and reclamation as part of the Mining Reclamation Permit, and authorized mine operations and ore processing for the Water Pollution Control Permit, including setting monitoring and reporting requirements,” the Lithium Americas press release said.


The deadline to request appeals to the permits is March 7.

There continues to be ongoing litigation over the Thacker Pass project.

The Bureau of Land Management issued a Record of Decision on Jan. 15, 2021. In February 2021, claims were filed against the BLM. In the third quarter of 2021, injunction requests over Lithium Americas’ plan to begin cultural assessment and pre-construction work were denied, and a motion to reconsider was also denied in late 2021.

Recently, the federal court partially approved a request for the inclusion of additional documents from the BLM. As a result of the additional documentation requests, the ROD appeal process is expected to be complete in the third quarter of 2022, according to Lithium Americas.

Tim Crowley, Lithium Nevada Corp. vice president of government and community relations, said the company still needs a ruling from the state water engineer on water rights, and an incidental eagle take permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. These are both expected fairly soon.

Crowley said they hope to begin cultural treatment work at the site this spring, and they are on track to begin pre-construction work at the end of this year.

“With the final key state environmental permits in hand, Lithium Americas can begin to advance Thacker Pass towards construction,” said Jonathan Evans, Lithium Americas president and CEO. “Thacker Pass provides an opportunity to enable a U.S.-based battery supply chain for the growing electric vehicle market. Our commitment to developing Thacker Pass in the most environmentally responsible way is demonstrated from over a decade of conducting the necessary planning, design and engagement.”

Thacker Pass is the largest known lithium deposit in the United States, and it is expected to have about 300 full-time employees and produce about 60,000 tons of lithium a year when it reaches full production.

https://elkodaily.com/mining/permits-approved-for-thacker-pass-lithium-mine