Name of the Project
Thacker Pass lithium project.

Location
Humboldt County, Nevada, in the US.

Project Owner/s
Lithium Americas.

Project Description
The project has a proven and probable reserve estimate of 179.4-million tonnes of ore, with an average grade of 3 283 parts per million lithium containing 3.1-million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent.

The prefeasibility study (PFS) envisages a large-scale lithium project with a design capacity of 60 000 t/y of battery-grade lithium carbonate. Production for Phase 1 is estimated at 30 000 t/y, increasing to 60 000 t/y in Phase 2. The project has a mine life of more than 40 years.

The project will be developed as an openpit mining operation using conventional continuous mining equipment.

Given the soft nature of the deposit, minimal blasting and crushing are expected.

The ore will be processed in a leaching circuit using sulphuric acid to liberate the lithium from the claystone.

Following the leaching process, the lithium-bearing solution will be purified using crystallisers and reagents to produce battery-grade lithium carbonate.

The mine plan contemplates mining 509.8-million tonnes of material comprising 330.4-million tonnes of waste rock and 179.4-million tonnes of ore (delivered to plant) over a 46-year mine life.

With the reliance on sulphuric acid, the project will involve the construction of a 5 280 t/d (Phase 1 – 2 640 t/d ) conventional sulphuric acid plant site. The plant will convert molten sulphur into low-cost sulphuric acid, reducing transportation costs and providing a low-cost source of power.

Excess acid will be sold locally to large users in the region. In addition, the sulphuric acid plant proposes a cogeneration facility, providing enough carbon-free electricity to power the entire project, with excess power being sold to the grid.

Additional infrastructure in Phase 2 includes doubling the sulphuric acid capacity by building a second acid plant; increasing capacity in ore preparation, leaching, filtration, crystallisation and reagent storage; and constructing a rail line, with service directly to the plant.

The production process is designed to use conventional and commonly available equipment, arranged to take advantage of the distinctive qualities of the high-grade ore. The process comprises a series of steps to concentrate, separate and produce battery-grade lithium carbonate.

Potential Job Creation
Thacker Pass is expected to provide employment for about 1 000 workers, and for about 300 permanent workers once in operation, with training and skills development programmes aimed at maximising local employment in northern Nevada.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a pretax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of $3.9-billion and an internal rate of return of 36.6%.

Capital Expenditure
Initial capital costs, including a 19% contingency, are estimated at $581-million for Phase 1 and at $478-million for Phase 2.

Planned Start/End Date
The PFS envisages initial Phase 1 production capacity of 30 000 t/y of battery-grade lithium carbonate starting in 2022. Phase 2 construction is projected to start in 2025, with added production entering the market by 2026.

Latest Developments
A US judge has ordered regulators to reconsider part of the permit approving Lithium Americas' Thacker Pass lithium mine project.

The mixed ruling allows for construction to start and rejects claims that the project will cause unnecessary harm to the environment or wildlife.

Meanwhile, General Motors (GM) has signed a $650-million deal to help develop the project, an agreement that hinges in part on a positive outcome in the long-running court case. GM has declined to comment on the ruling.

Chief Judge Miranda Du, of the federal court in Reno, Nevada, has ordered the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to determine whether Lithium Americas has the right to dump waste rock at the site, just south of Nevada's border with Oregon.

Du, however, has not ignored a 2021 decision by then-President Donald Trump to approve the mine. The ruling can be appealed, and environmentalists have said they are considering the next steps.

In the 49-page ruling, Du orders the BLM to determine whether about 530 ha at the Thacker Pass site – where Lithium Americas hopes to store waste rock, a by-product of the mining process – contains lithium.

The review should not take longer than six months.

Site preparation should begin almost immediately, with extensive construction likely to start this summer and last about three years.

Du has also rejected claims from the Reno Sparks Indian Colony and other Native American tribes that they were not properly consulted about the project and its potential effects on cultural and historical sites.

Attorney for the Reno Sparks Indian Colony Will Falk has said the tribe has not decided whether to appeal, but would continue to fight the project.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Lithium Americas, email info@lithiumamericas.com.