The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
Metal Tech News - August 7, 2024
The U.S. Department of Defense is investing in domestic mine projects that will provide secure supplies of materials needed for electric vehicles, such as this military transport based on GMC's Hummer EV.
Multiple steps are required to upgrade Thaker Pass ore (left) to battery-grade lithium carbonate (right).
To help meet growing demand for the batteries powering America's energy transition and military hardware, the U.S. Department of Defense has awarded Lithium Nevada Corp., a subsidiary of Lithium Americas Corp., $11.8 million to accelerate the extraction and processing of lithium carbonate at its Thacker Pass mine project in Nevada.
"It is critical that we shore up reliable and sustainable domestic supplies of strategic materials, like lithium carbonate, that are necessary for the production of large-capacity batteries," said Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy Laura Taylor-Kale. "This award helps do just that, facilitating the acceleration and expansion of Lithium Nevada's existing capabilities to meet growing demand."
Lying within the McDermitt Caldera in northern Nevada, Thacker Pass hosts the largest known deposit of lithium in the United States and one of the largest in the world.
So far, Lithium Americas has outlined 16.1 million metric tons of lithium carbonate in measured and indicated resources. Mining less than a quarter of these resources would supply enough lithium carbonate for the batteries going into nearly 1 million average-sized EVs annually for 40 years.
This world-class deposit of lithium on American soil has attracted General Motors, which is investing $650 million toward the development of a mine at Thacker Pass, and the U.S. Department of Energy, which has conditionally committed to loan Lithium Americas $2.26 billion under the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program.
Multiple steps are required to upgrade Thaker Pass ore (left) to battery-grade lithium carbonate (right).
Contingent on the closing of the DOE loan before the end of this year, Lithium Americas currently plans to begin producing lithium carbonate at Thacker Pass in 2027 and reach commercial capacity in 2028.
"In advancing Thacker Pass to production, we have an incredible opportunity to lead the next chapter of global electrification in a way that both strengthens our national security of critical materials and ensures that the economic benefits are directed toward American workers, companies and communities," Lithium Americas President and CEO Jonathan Evans said earlier this year.
DOD says the $11.8 million Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III grant that it has awarded Lithium Nevada will enable the company to test, demonstrate, accelerate, and scale up its lithium carbonate extraction process and produce commercial-scale levels of battery-grade lithium carbonate at Thacker Pass.
With more than 17 years of covering mining, Shane is renowned for his insights and in-depth analysis of mining, mineral exploration, and technology metals.
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