Nevada
Lithium Americas to get massive federal loan to develop Thacker Pass mine • Nevada Current
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.
Home prices in Southern Nevada dropped from record highs to end 2025 and less homes sold last year compared with 2024.
Approximately 28,498 existing homes sold in the region last year, which is down almost 9 percent from the 31,305 homes that sold in 2024, according to trade association Las Vegas Realtors, which pulls its data from the Multiple Listing Service. This is the lowest number of homes sold in a year in Southern Nevada since 2007 right before the Great Recession.
The median sale price for a house sold in Southern Nevada in December was approximately $470,000, a 3.9 percent drop from November, according to LVR. By the end of December, LVR reported 6,396 single-family homes listed for sale without any sort of offer. That’s up 28.8 percent from one year earlier.
Despite a down year in sales, the local market did end on a high note.
George Kypreos, president of Las Vegas Realtors, said he is optimistic the housing market could turn around this year. The LVR report noted that home sales in Southern Nevada have seen “peaks and valleys” in recent years, generally declining since 2021 when a record 50,010 properties sold.
“Although it was a relatively slow year for home sales, we’re seeing some encouraging signs heading into the new year,” said Kypreos in a statement. “Buyer activity locally and nationally is starting to improve. Home prices have been fairly stable, and mortgage interest rates ended the year lower than they were the previous year. Most trends are pointing to a more balanced housing market in 2026.”
Freddie Mac currently has the average price for a 30-year fixed-term mortgage rate at 6.1 percent. That mortgage rate has not gone below 6 percent since 2022.
The all-time high median home sale price in Southern Nevada was broken multiple times last year, and currently sits at $488,995 which was last set in November while the condo and townhome market has dropped substantially from an all-time high that was set in October of 2024 ($315,000) to $275,000 to end 2025.
Major residential real estate brokerages are mixed as to where the market will head this year as Zillow, Redfin and Realtor.com have all put out their 2026 projections, and they expect a similar market to 2025. Mortgage rates aren’t expected to drop enough next year to unlock the country’s housing market, new builds will continue to lag, and prices will remain relatively elevated.
Realtor.com said in its report that it predicts a “steadier” housing market next year and a slight shift to a more balanced market. Redfin’s report says 2026 will be the year of the “great housing reset,” which means the start of a yearslong period of “gradual increases in home sales and normalization of prices as affordability gradually improves.”
Finally, Zillow said the housing market should “warm up” in 2026 with “buyers seeing a bit more breathing room and sellers benefiting from price stability and more consistent demand.”
Contact Patrick Blennerhassett at pblennerhassett@reviewjournal.com.
TRUCKEE, Calif. — An avalanche in California’s Sierra Nevada on Monday buried a snowmobiler in snow and killed him, authorities said.
Rescuers responded after a 911 call around 2:20 p.m. reported a possible avalanche near Johnson Peak and Castle Peak in Truckee.
The snowmobiler was initially reported missing but then was found under the snow several minutes later, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Fellow recreationists found him but he didn’t survive despite lifesaving efforts, according to the statement.
Emergency personnel were working to safely extract the victim late Monday and to confirm no others were buried.
The sheriff’s office said more avalanches could occur and recommended that people avoid the area.
Each winter, 25 to 30 people die in avalanches in the U.S., according to the National Avalanche Center. The center’s current map shows high risk spots in Utah and Washington and areas of considerable risk in California, Colorado, Idaho and Wyoming.
Nevada Preps Winter Sports Rankings
Records through Sunday
Boys basketball
Class 5A
1. Liberty (10-5)
2. Democracy Prep (9-6)
3. Coronado (5-6)
4. Bishop Gorman (9-7)
5. Desert Pines (11-4)
Class 4A
1. Clark (8-5)
2. Las Vegas High (10-4)
3. Losee (7-5)
4. Faith Lutheran (11-5)
5. Shadow Ridge (11-4)
Class 3A
1. Virgin Valley (9-2)
2. The Meadows (9-5)
3. Boulder City (9-5)
4. GV Christian (8-6)
5. Pahrump Valley (5-7)
Games to watch
All games at 6:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted
Tuesday
Losee at Las Vegas
Faith Lutheran at Liberty
Wednesday
Bishop Gorman at Desert Pines
Virgin Valley at The Meadows
Thursday
Coronado at Mojave
Clark at Durango
Friday
Desert Pines at Las Vegas
Virgin Valley at Boulder City
Saturday
Big City Showdown at Coronado
Liberty vs. Desert Pines, 4:30 p.m.
Bishop Gorman vs. Coronado, 8 p.m.
Girls basketball
Class 5A
1. Bishop Gorman (11-1)
2. Democracy Prep (7-4)
3. Centennial (6-3)
4. Liberty (10-7)
5. Shadow Ridge (3-4)
Class 4A
1. Mojave (9-4)
2. Mater East (10-4)
3. Losee (14-5)
4. Del Sol (13-3)
5. Cimarron-Memorial (9-2)
Class 3A
1. Virgin Valley (6-5)
2. Boulder City (8-6)
3. Moapa Valley (8-4)
4. Coral Academy (7-4)
5. Pahrump Valley (4-7)
Games to watch
All games at 6:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted
Wednesday
Faith Lutheran at Shadow Ridge
Centennial at Liberty
Mojave at Desert Oasis
Thursday
Sierra Vista at Cimarron-Memorial, 5 p.m.
Friday
Mater East at Desert Oasis
Virgin Valley at Boulder City
Saturday
Big City Showdown at Coronado
Bishop Gorman vs. Centennial, 6:15 p.m.
Flag football
Class 5A
1. Desert Oasis (8-0)
2. Shadow Ridge (10-1)
3. Arbor View (10-1)
4. Palo Verde (10-3)
5. Liberty (6-2)
Class 4A
1. Virgin Valley (5-3)
2. Sierra Vista (5-2)
3. Mater East (6-3)
4. Clark (7-4)
5. Spring Valley (5-2)
Games to watch
All games at 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday
Palo Verde at Desert Oasis
Coronado at Bishop Gorman
SECTA at Arbor View
Friday
Shadow Ridge at Palo Verde
Canyon Springs at Arbor View
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