Construction crews work at the Thacker Pass project near Orovada, Nev., on April 24, 2023.Rick Bowmer/The Associated Press
Canadian miner Lithium Americas LAC-T said on Wednesday General Motors GM-N will contribute $625-million to their new joint venture for developing the Thacker Pass project in Nevada.
U.S. automakers are ramping up their output of EVs and hybrids and aiming to reduce their reliance on China for battery-related materials in a competitive market.
U.S.-listed shares of Lithium Americas were up 16.5 per cent at $3.11 in premarket trade.
The Vancouver-based firm said GM will acquire a 38 per cent asset-level ownership stake in Thacker Pass for $625-million, which includes $430-million of direct cash funding to support the construction of Phase 1 and a $195-million letter of credit facility.
The new agreement replaces the delayed investment worth $330-million in August by both companies.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Energy had planned to lend Lithium Americas up to $2.26-billion to build the Thacker Pass lithium project, which holds enough of the battery metal to build 1 million electric vehicles annually.
The company said it expects to close the DOE loan in the next few weeks and intends to make the final investment decision for the project by the end of the year.
Initial construction at the site in Humboldt County, just south of Nevada’s border with Oregon, started in March 2023 after Lithium Americas won a long-running and complex court case against conservationists, ranchers and Indigenous communities.
The lithium miner said GM will also enter into an additional 20-year offtake agreement for up to 38 per cent of production from Phase 2 of Thacker Pass, upon closing of the transaction.