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RENO, Nev. (AP) – President Joe Biden’s administration is closing a controversial lithium mine in Nevada, making the president’s key to the largest known U.S. reserves of the metal essential to making electric vehicle batteries. It agreed to loan the construction company more than $2 billion, subject to conditions. Renewable energy agenda.
The U.S. Department of Energy on Thursday will provide Canada-based Lithium Americas with a $2.26 billion conditional loan to cover the cost of an open-pit mine deeper than the length of a football field near the Oregon state line. Agreed.
The loan will help fund a lithium carbonate processing plant at the Tucker Pass Mine, about 200 miles (322 kilometers) north of Reno, and the Department of Energy said in a statement that it has “the largest proven lithium reserves in North America. “There is,” he said.
“Tucker Pass is a lithium treasure trove that is key to strengthening America’s energy security and energizing America,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said Friday in a message on X, formerly known as Twitter. I mentioned it in.
“By offering this $2.26 billion conditional loan, we will help level the global playing field and accelerate clean energy production across the country,” she said.
The Department of Energy said the loan is subject to review of the project by the Office of Loan Programs under the National Environmental Policy Act.
Biden’s renewable energy policy, which aims to reduce U.S. dependence on fossil fuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, is a re-election bid against former President Donald Trump, who said he would focus on expanding oil drilling. It is expected that this will become an important point of contention.
The department said lithium carbonate from Tucker Pass could support the production of up to 800,000 electric vehicle batteries a year and avoid consuming 317 million gallons (1.2 billion liters) of gasoline annually.
“Today’s announcement is a sign of the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to strengthening America’s critical materials supply chains, which are essential to building America’s clean transportation future and strengthening our national and energy security,” the DOE said Thursday. It strengthens our overall approach.”
Lithium Americas said the loan will cover most of the first phase of the Tucker Pass project, which is currently estimated to cost $2.93 billion. Last January, General Motors agreed to invest $650 million in the project, with conditions.
The state’s conditional commitment to the loan “is an important milestone for Tucker Pass and will help meet the nation’s growing demand for lithium chemicals and strengthen our nation’s security,” Lithium America said. said Jonathan Evans, President and Chief Executive Officer.
“The United States has a tremendous opportunity to lead the next chapter of global electrification in a way that strengthens the battery supply chain and ensures economic benefits for American workers, businesses, and communities,” he said. “There is,” he said.
Environmental groups and leaders of three tribes have spent nearly two years fighting the mine, which they claim is adjacent to a sacred site where more than 20 Native Americans were massacred in 1865.
But a federal judge in Reno rejected the latest challenge in December, and the president of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, which is at the forefront of the legal battle, announced weeks later that he was abandoning any further appeals.
The acting president of the Nevada tribe closest to the mine said her members support the project.
“Tucker Pass provides important economic and employment opportunities for tribal members,” Larina Bell of the Fort McDermit Paiute Shoshone Tribe said in a statement.
Lithium Americas said it has completed site preparation, including all site clearing, commissioning of the water supply system, site access improvements, and site infrastructure.
The company said its latest estimated total cost for Phase 1 construction was based on several factors, including the use of unions in construction, modern equipment prices, and the development of comprehensive housing facilities for construction workers.29 The amount has been revised upward to $30 million.
The company said it spent $193.7 million on the project in the year ending Dec. 31. Mechanical completion of the first stage is targeted for 2027, with full production expected in 2028.
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