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Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) rose 1.4% amid a decision by an appeals court to affirm a lower court’s ruling to approve its Thacker Pass lithium mine in Nevada amid opposition from environmental and other groups.
The U.S. Appeals Court for the 9th Circuit affirmed a lower court’s decision from February, according to a court filing on Monday.
A federal judge in February rejected claims that the Thacker Pass project would cause unnecessary harm to the environment, but allowed construction to begin while the agency provided additional proof that Lithium Americas (LAC) has the mineral rights necessary to dump waste rock and tailings from the operation on adjacent federal land.
Lithium Americas (LAC) started construction at its Thacker Pass lithium project in Nevada in early March, following the receipt of a notice to proceed from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The announcement followed the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ denial of a request by environmental groups for an emergency injunction that would have stopped work on the project.
Thacker Pass is targeting 80K metric tons/year of battery-quality lithium carbonate production capacity in two phases, with phase one production expected to begin in H2 2026.