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. Phase 1 production 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 federal judge is expected to rule on September 3 whether to grant a request from Native Americans to temporarily block Lithium Americas Corp from excavating its Nevada mine site.

A ruling for the Native Americans could signal that the court may block the entire project, which was approved by the outgoing Trump administration in January.

Tribal members say the mine will disturb ground that contains ancestral bones. The digging is required by federal statute to determine whether the land holds any historical artifacts.

Lithium Americas and the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which controls the land, say the tribes did not participate in the mine permitting process when asked and did not share their beliefs about the land until earlier this summer, after the project was approved.

"BLM's outreach efforts . . . have been reasonable and in good faith," BLM attorney Arwyn Carroll told the hearing. "The tribes never told BLM that Thacker Pass could be this type of site."

Attorneys for the tribes say regulators did not work hard enough to contact every tribe that could have a connection to the site, especially amid the pandemic.

Chief Judge Miranda Du, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, rejected a request from environmentalists in July to prevent digging, but then allowed tribes to make the same request.

Although Du gave little hint as to which way she might rule, she asked several times how Native American artifacts would be handled if discovered.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

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