General Motors has decided to postpone its $330 million second tranche investment in the controversial Thacker Pass lithium mine project in Nevada.
Lithium Americas said it and auto maker GM had agreed to extend the deadline for the second tranche subscription agreement till year-end. GM reaffirmed its intention to complete the investment, but the pair will explore alternative structures for GM’s additional investment, it said. It gave no further details.
In January 2023, the companies agreed GM would invest $650 million in the project in two rounds, the largest ever investment by an auto manufacturer in battery raw materials production.
Lithium Americas has agreed not to unilaterally close the second tranche until 20 December 2024, to provide time for such discussions to take place. GM’s investment is subject to the conditions in a subscription agreement. That includes agreement for a $2.3 billion loan from the US Department of Energy.
Thacker Pass is the largest known measured and indicated lithium resource in North America, the company said. Total production capacity is forecast to be 80,000 tonnes per annum.
Native Americans claim the Peehee Mu’huh Thacker Pass site was a scene of two massacres. The land, which contains ancestral remains and artefacts, should therefore be regarded sacred ground, they said.
Gary McKinney of the People of Red Mountain said GM has little knowledge of massacres in Thacker Pass. The group claimed in a letter to GM in 2023 the proposed mine would irreparably destroy 5,695 acres of sacred land, desecrate graves, annually consume 2,600-5,200 acre feet of water. It would also result in “hundreds of years of post-mining water pollution over its projected 40 years of construction and operations.” An acre foot is approximately 326,000 gallons.
He told BEST: “Environmentally, we as indigenous people, know the true effects of any type of mining. Lithium is a dangerous move to combat climate change with because it uses so much water, pumping and dumping. The lax regulations put what remaining usable water is left at risk.”
It has asked GM to pause investments to conduct due diligence into indigenous rights. Another meeting is due to be held with GM, he said.
