(USNewsMag.com) – The largest lithium mine in the United States is one step closer to breaking ground after a federal judge upheld former President Donald Trump’s 2021 decision to approve the mine.
The Thacker Pass mine, located in Nevada, is planning on beginning construction this summer barring any further legal obstacles. Since the project was first proposed it has faced challenges from multiple groups. One claimed it would harm the habitat of the sage grouse. Another challenge was based on air and groundwater aquifer pollution in the area. Native American tribes have claimed the Bureau of Land Management failed to consult with them which would be a violation of the law. Two Native American groups in the vicinity claim the land is the location of a massacre that occurred in 1865. A previous ruling found there was insufficient evidence for the claim.
The deputy director of Western Watersheds promised to continue fighting the “destructive mine,” and implied the project would worsen “the biodiversity crisis.”
Lithium Americas, the company behind the mine, said it was “pleased” with the decision and that it had made “considerable efforts” to develop the Thacker Pass mine responsibly. The company’s largest investor is a Chinese firm called Ganfeng Lithium. The project has also received a $650 million investment from General Motors.
The purpose of allowing the development of the mine is to reduce dependence on Chinese lithium and create a large source of lithium in the United States which can be used to make electric vehicle batteries. Finding sources of lithium that can be mined with minimal damage to the environment is critical to President Joe Biden’s optimistic goals of reducing carbon emissions.
In the ruling on February 6th, the judge ordered the Bureau of Land Management to make sure the company would be allowed to dump waste rock on the property. Lithium mining has the potential to be very damaging to the local environment which requires strict regulation of waste disposal.
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