Federal judge’s ruling advances lithium mine

A federal judge gave the green light to the Thacker Pass lithium mine in Humboldt County — which would be North America’s largest source of lithium for electric vehicle batteries — rejecting an appeal from the mine’s opponents.

The company behind the mine, Lithium Americas Corp., still has another hurdle to jump through: U.S. District Court Judge Miranda Du ordered the company and the Bureau of Land Management to determine whether the company has the adequate mining-claim rights to the land where the waste storage and tailings facilities are expected to be located.

But that order does not affect the company’s ability to break ground on the open-pit mine, which is expected to extract 60,000 tons of lithium per year to make battery-grade lithium products. The mine’s opponents also have the option to appeal Du’s ruling, which was dated Monday.

“We are pleased that the Federal Court has recognized the (Bureau of Land Management’s) decision to issue the Federal Permit, reflecting our considerable efforts to ensure Thacker Pass is developed responsibly and for the benefit of all stakeholders,” said Jonathan Evans, president and CEO of Lithium Americas Corp, in a statement Tuesday.

The Thacker Pass mine, which will take over about nine miles of land and have a lifespan of 46 years, has been years in the making with multiple parties opposing the project, including Native American tribes, a local rancher and conservationists, demonstrating the tug of war between environmentalism and “green energy” projects aiming to meet the federal government’s electric vehicle goals.

Du rejected the arguments of the mine’s opponents, who worried the mine would harm the local sage grouse population, affect groundwater aquifers and air quality. They argued in court that the Bureau of Land Management failed to take those issues under consideration.

Multiple tribes in Nevada had filed a lawsuit in opposition to the mine, saying it’s the site where their ancestors were massacred in 1865. Tribes refer to the area as “Peehee Mu’huh,” which means “rotten moon,” in marking that massacre.

Indigenous activists say the judge’s decision is a part of the historical pattern of the U.S. government mistreating Native Americans and tribes, saying that Peehee Mu’huh will be added to the “list of environmental and religious injustice(s) to Indigenous people.”

“Federal Judge Miranda Du and her decision with the Thacker Pass Lithium mine has just slithered into the malicious patterns of American law and a corporate-priority government,” wrote the People of Red Mountain, a coalition of tribes in the area who oppose the mine, in a statement Thursday. “People of color are not treated with respect and equality in the United Corporations of America and capitalism is the No. 1 threat to our climate future.”

Du concluded that BLM consulted tribes about the project between 2010 and 2017 and had not learned that the tribes had a special interest in the area or that it was culturally significant to them, according to the court ruling.

Rancher Ed Bartell also had filed a lawsuit in opposition to the mine, worried that the water table underneath his rye field will lower when the mine starts pumping water from it. He was not “particularly happy” with Du’s ruling Monday.

“It’s appealable,” Bartell said. “We’re reviewing the decision and seeing where we can go.”