WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House is moving forward with a deal that allows the US government to take small stakes in a Canadian company that is developing one of the worlds The largest lithium mine In northern Nevada, officials said.
The Department of Energy and Lithium, the developer of the proposed Tuckerpas lithium mine and the processing plant about 200 miles north of Reno, has agreed to a $2.3 billion federal loan change that allows the project to proceed to extract. Silver metal used in electric vehicle batteries. General Motors has pledged more than $900 million to help develop the Tucker Pass. It holds enough lithium to build one million electric vehicles each year.
The proposed stock in Vancouver-based Lithium America is the latest example of President Donald Trump’s administration’s direct intervention in private companies. The government is Get 10% stake in Intel Through billions of conversions in government funds and pledges previously granted. The administration created it in July by spending $400 million in taxpayer money on MP material stock. US Government Las Vegas’ largest owner of rare earth miners. Trump also traded Nvidia and AMD give the US government a 15% revenue cut From selling certain chips to China.
White House officials have declined to designate the size of Lithium America’s US stock, but said it was “very small” (less than 10%) and would serve as a “cash buffer” for the company. Lithium America has called on the energy sector to restructure its federal loans. It was approved by the Biden administration last year.
“We support projects moving forward,” said White House officials who were given anonymity to talk about transactions that have not yet been completed.
“Major minerals like lithium are “very important to boost the US economy and restore domestic manufacturing,” the official said, “we’re trying to do this in a fair way for taxpayers. We don’t believe in free money.”
A Lithium America spokesman declined to comment, but the company said in a statement it was in discussions with DOE and General Motors over DOE loans.
“Topics in these discussions include specific terms and conditions for withdrawing details of the DOE loan and associated loan, as well as incremental requests from the DOE for potential terms,” the statement said.
GM spokesman Jim Kane said on Friday that he remains “confident in the project” but declined to comment on the ongoing negotiations.
Tucker Pass is considered important for building a domestic supply chain to make batteries for electric vehicles and other electronic devices. It also represents the rare point of a deal between Trump and former President Joe Biden. Both Republicans and Democrats are supporting mining projects as a way to boost America’s critical mineral production and reduce confidence in China, the world’s largest lithium processor.
Thacker Pass is expected to produce 40,000 tons of battery-quality lithium lithium carbonate per year in its first phase.
Environmental Group and 3 Tribe Leaders He spent years fighting the mines. They say it is adjacent to the sacred site of the massacre of more than 20 Native Americans in 1865.
The DOE under Biden supported the project as a way to help mitigate climate change Speeds up shifts from fossil fuels.
Trump actively stepped away from the face of climate change and labeled it. The biggest fraudulent job done in the world so far “In a speech at the UN this week. “If you don’t run away from the green energy scam, your country will fail,” Trump told world leaders on Tuesday.
The bid to boost the lithium project is because the pace of sales of U.S. electric vehicles has slowed as the industry struggles to attract mainstream buyers who continue to worry about charging infrastructure and affordable prices.
The law approved by Congressional Republicans and signed by Trump is likely to take another blow to EV adoptions. Large tax laws were approved this summer Federal incentive stages for purchasing new and second-hand EVsIt is effective at the end of the month.
Consumers rushed to dealer lot this quarter and used their credits before phased out. Credit saved car buyers up to $7,500 from the cost of EVs.
Without incentives, many car manufacturers struggle to sell.
In addition to batteries in cars, mobile phones and other electronic devices, lithium is also used in the manufacture of glass, chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Lithium batteries are also used to store wind and solar power.
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Associated Press Writer Alexa St. John in Detroit contributed to this report.
