The positive FID will see Phase 1 construction begin at Thacker Pass with commissioning targeted for late 2027

Lithium Americas and JV partner General Motors Holdings (GMH) has announced the final investment decision (FID) for Phase 1 operations at the Thacker Pass lithium project in Nevada, USA.  The Thacker Pass project is centred upon sedimentary hosted lithium associated with clay deposits, with a mineral resource containing 66.1Mt LCE (as of April 2025) reported at the site.  Phase 1 operations at Thacker Pass will target production of 40,000tpy LCE contained within a ‘battery-grade’ lithium carbonate product, with subsequent phases of expansion scheduled to increase capacity at the project to 160,000tpy LCE.  The positive FID will see Phase 1 construction commence at the Thacker Pass project, with commissioning targeted to begin in late 2027.  The funding and positive FID at Thacker Pass represents the first modern sedimentary hosted lithium project to begin full construction globally.

The announcement of the FID by Lithium Americas and GMH follows the closing of a US$250M investment managed by Orion Partners, which also satisfied the outstanding fundraising requirements of the US Department of Energy’s (DoE) US$2.26Bn loan agreement closed in October 2024.  In addition to the DoE loan agreement and Orion Partners lead investment, Lithium Americas and GMH have contributed a combined US$292M to the JV, bringing total investment in the Thacker Pass project to US$2.80Bn.