Lithium Americas, a Vancouver-based mining company, is planning a lithium mine in Nevada. The proposed site, Thacker Pass, has raised questions regarding the rights of native Americans, who claim that the Sentinel Mountains was a scene of a massacre in 1865 and therefore should be declared as sacred ground.
Lithium Americas say that the lithium findings will offer at least 40 years of mining activity with expansion potential. It is said to be the largest known resource of sedimentary lithium in North America. In phase one around 40,000 tons will be produced, in phase two up to 80,000 tons.
The $2.26 billion project has General Motors as the major stakeholder. The battery-quality lithium carbonate to be produced is intended to be a part of the national electrification program launched by the Biden government. But the green revolution has encountered resistance as the local Paiute and Shoshone tribes anticipate that some of the 923 native cultural sites will be threatened or even destroyed by the mining project.
Lithium Americas says that the company is aware of the challenges and that both biodiversity and sustainable energy solutions have been considered, for example low water consumption in this arid region. “In October 2022, the Company signed a Community Benefits Agreement with the local tribe to establish a framework for continued collaboration. Lithium Americas enlisted Far Western Anthropological Research Group to complete cultural work on approximately 13,000 acres at Thacker Pass. This was a key requirement of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process”, Tim Crowley, the company’s VP of Government and External Affairs said.
But the local inhabitants still doubt that their rights and history will be respected. The organisation People of Red Mountain’s has a simple mission: “Our goal is to raise awareness of the proposed mine and to protect the land sacred to indigenous peoples.”
