The U.S. government offered Canada-based Lithium Americas a financial lifeline Thursday to develop a Nevada lithium deposit that contains the largest-proven lithium reserves in North America.
Citing a need to secure a domestic supply of lithium for electric car batteries, the Biden administration agreed to provide a $2.26 billion conditional loan for the construction of a lithium carbonate processing plant at Thacker Pass in Humboldt County, Nevada. It’s the largest federal investment in a lithium mine to date.
The conditional loan from the U.S. Department of Energy will provide the vast majority of the capital needed to fund the first phase of development, Lithium Americas said in a statement Thursday. Under federal law, the funds provided by the DOE can’t be used for the excavation of an open-pit mine, but can be used for lithium processing facilities.
Lawsuits and delays have plagued the construction of the planned lithium mine in Nevada for years. Lithium Americas had initially planned to begin lithium production at Thacker Pass by 2026, but several permitting issues and litigation by Nevada tribes and conservation groups helped delay the project. Lithium production at Thacker Pass is now expected to run at full capacity in 2028.
Construction costs for the planned lithium mine have also increased since the company’s initial estimate. The company cites higher engineering costs, an agreement to use union labor, and housing construction for workers and their families in the remote region for revising the estimated cost by more than $660 million, from $2.27 billion to nearly $2.93 billion.
Lithium Americas hopes to extract lithium from clay at Thacker Pass, something never done before at commercial scale. The novel technique may also repel more risk averse investors.
Despite the delays and higher costs, the massive DOE loan could help attract additional investors for later phases.
As per the agreement, the $2.26 billion DOE loan won’t close until Lithium Americas secures full financing for the project. In a statement on Thursday, Lithium Americas said they expect to meet the conditions of the loan by the second half of 2024.
General Motors already pledged $650 million for the project, on the condition that Lithium Americas can secure sufficient capital to fund the development expenditures for Thacker Pass.
Jonathan Evans, President and CEO of Lithium Americas, said the federal loan is “a significant milestone for Thacker Pass, which will help meet the growing domestic need for lithium chemicals and strengthen our nation’s security.”
“The United States has an incredible opportunity to lead the next chapter of global electrification in a way that both strengthens our battery supply chains and ensures that the economic benefits are directed toward American workers, companies and communities,” Evans said.
Construction at the site — just south of the Nevada-Oregon border — started March 2023, after a federal judge cleared most legal challenges to the mine. Lithium Americas said it plans to start major construction on the mine as soon as the federal loan closes and final environmental reviews are completed, a process that will take three years.
If finalized, the mine is expected to produce enough lithium carbonate to support the production of batteries for up to 800,000 electric vehicles annually — the equivalent of 317 million gallons of gasoline consumption per year, according to the DOE.
The project has the support of some – but not all – tribes in the region. Larina Bell, the acting chairwoman of the Fort McDermitt Paiute Shoshone Tribe, said she believes Lithium Americas has acknowledged the tribe’s interests and will mitigate potential impacts to natural resources.
“Thacker Pass will provide important economic and employment opportunities for members of our Tribe,” Bell said in a statement. “Through our meetings with Lithium Americas, we have recognized their goal of securing a domestic supply of the lithium mineral, a key component of batteries that are essential in the transition to renewable energy and to build sustainable resiliency against climate change.”
According to the DOE, the project is expected to create 1,800 jobs during the construction period, and 360 jobs in operations to produce up to 40,000 metric tonnes of battery-grade lithium carbonate per year for use in lithium-ion batteries.
John Hadder of Great Basin Resource Watch, a conservation group that lost its efforts to block the project in court, argued the federal government shouldn’t use “taxpayer dollars bailing out a bad mine project that is not competent to attract investors.”
“It seems clear that without a government handout the company is unable to attract sufficient investors. There could be a number of reasons including the fact that this company is new at this business and the permitting process for Thacker Pass was very poorly done, which casts a shadow over the project,” Hadder said.
LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — A string of deadly crashes in and around Pahrump has prompted Nye County Sheriff Joe McGill to push for more safety measures along dark, sidewalk-free roads.
“The worst penalty is death, if you consider that,” McGill said.
The recent deaths include a single-vehicle rollover on State Route 160 during the morning hours of the last Wednesday in January that killed one person and injured another.
Then, into February, two pedestrians were killed in less than three days.
The first was a 7 p.m. crash on Quarter Horse Avenue. Investigators believe a 2006 Jeep Liberty was driving on the street when it hit a pedestrian, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
A few days later, this last Saturday, state troopers responded to a crash just after sundown at Charleston Park Avenue. A sedan hit a pedestrian, who was also pronounced dead at the scene.
Nevada State Police investigators are still investigating both pedestrian cases before more details are released.
McGill said the recent crashes were enough to spur action.
“When the third one came out, I was sitting at home and watching TV. I looked at my wife and I said, ‘We got to do something about this,’” McGill said.
McGill is responding with a reflective vest giveaway, pointing to limited infrastructure as a possible factor. He noted a lack of street lights off State Route 160 and no sidewalks inside the community.
“The only light that you have is the ambient light from houses and cars so it is really dark,” McGill said.
John Treanor of AAA Nevada said poor visibility can quickly turn dangerous for both drivers and pedestrians.
“It is very easy to be confronted with a situation that you cannot see coming because the visibility might be bad,” Treanor said.
Treanor encouraged pedestrians to carry lights and drivers to be prepared if they end up outside their vehicles in dark conditions.
“Having lights on you. Even carrying a flashlight allows something where a driver can see it,” Treanor said. “If you are a driver, make sure you have the right stuff in your car, in case you do get in a situation where you are on the side of the road and now you are in dark. Make sure you have a kit with some reflectors, some lights. Anything the trunk of your car in case you need it.”
McGill said vigilance is important even in daylight.
“Any time of the day, you have got to be vigilant. You have to keep aware of your surroundings if you are a walker or on a bicycle or if you are the driver,” he said.
Authorities also urged caution as more people may pull off roads in rocky areas along the route toward Death Valley National Park during springtime blooms, increasing the need for drivers and pedestrians to stay alert.
A waterfront mansion on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe just sold for $46 million, less than three weeks after hitting the market.
The speedy deal marks a departure from the typical U.S. market.
Nationwide, homes took a median 78 days to land a buyer in January, five more than the same time last year and the 22nd straight month of homes taking longer to sell on a year-over-year basis, according to data from Realtor.com.
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The lavish log cabin-like residence, in Incline Village, listed on Jan. 24 for $47.5 million. It sold 20 days later, on Feb. 13, listing records show.
The more than 7,000-square-foot residence was built in 2014, and has double-height living spaces, walls of windows, beamed ceilings, fireplaces, and plenty of rustic exposed stone and wood, listing images show.
There’s also a gym, a wet bar, a spa, a wine room, an office, two separate game rooms, seven bedrooms and dramatic Lake Tahoe views. Outside, there’s a private sandy beach, multiple decks, a heated driveway and two exterior fireplaces, according to listing information.
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The seller and the buyer are both limited liability companies, according to property records. Both parties were represented by Jeff Brown of Tahoe Mountain Realty, who declined to comment on the deal.
The median home price in Incline Village was $1.595 million as of December, a fall of 3.3% from a year earlier, according to data from Realtor.com. Listings, meanwhile, spent an average of 130 days on the market.
Updated February 26, 2026 – 8:28 pm
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Green Valley’s softball team claimed an 8-6 win at Liberty on Thursday on the first day of high school spring sports competition in Nevada.
Green Valley next hosts Silverado at 3 p.m. Friday. Liberty plays at Bishop Gorman at 3 p.m. Friday.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
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