Construction at Nevada lithium mine begins despite lawsuit

Construction is underway in Nevada at what will be the largest lithium mine in the U.S. Crews want to extract raw materials from the mine to boost production of electric vehicle batteries. A group of conservationists and Native American tribes are trying to block the construction near the Oregon border saying the government violated environmental laws when it fast-tracked the mine. However, a federal appeals court denied the environmentalists request to temporarily stop construction until their lawsuit is settled. It has been a legal battle ongoing for two years.

Lawyers for the mining company Lithium Americas and the Biden administration said in court filings on Tuesday further delay was undermining efforts to combat climate change as the 2-year-old legal battle lingers and demand continues to grow for the key component in batteries for electric vehicles. Thacker Pass in Nevada is home to the largest lithium deposit in the U.S. and third largest in the world. The reserve at Thacker Pass would support lithium for more than 1.5 million EVs per year for 40 years according to Lithium Americas. Proponents of mining at the reserve said it’s going to help ready America as demand for EVs increase. Many states are vowing to sell only electric cars in the next 7 years.

“There are no other U.S. alternatives to Thacker Pass to provide lithium at the scale, grade or timeline necessary to begin closing the gap between the lithium available and the lithium needed to achieve the U.S.’s clean energy and transportation goals,” Lithium Americas lawyers wrote.

The project to extract lithium covers 5,000 acres in Nevada with an open-pit mine as deep as a football field. Opponents of the construction project say the environmental impacts from mining will be permanent and severe. A half-dozen conservation groups say habitat critical to dwindling sage grouse, pronghorn antelope, threatened cutthroat trout and others could be lost forever as a result of the project. For now, until the lawsuit is settled, the mining company can carry on.

“By the time our general appeal to the Ninth Circuit is heard, irreversible damage to the environmentally and culturally sensitive area known as Thacker Pass will have occurred unnecessarily,” John Hadder, director of the Great Basin Resource Watch, said.

The Associated Press contributed to this article