Nevada has only one operating lithium mine even though the state is believed to be rich in lithium resources.
But as demand grows for lithium, which is a key component in electric vehicle batteries, interest in mining the resource in Nevada is surging.
“The global lithium market is expanding rapidly due to an increase in the use of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicle and energy storage applications,” Ioneer, a company that has proposed a lithium mine near Tonopah, said on its website.
Ioneer also noted that Nevada is home to Tesla Motors’ Gigafactory 1, which began operating in 2016 and is “by far the largest planned lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility in North America.”
Meanwhile, Nevada’s existing lithium mine, Silver Peak, is planning an expansion. Albemarle, which owns the facility, announced in January that it will invest $30 million to $50 million to double the current production at the site by 2025.
“As global demand for electric vehicles (EV) grows, North American automotive manufacturers are seeking to regionalize their supply chain for greater security and sustainability,” the company said in a news release.
Another proposed project in Nevada is the Thacker Pass lithium mine, which received federal approval in January but is now bogged down in court challenges.
In addition, at least three projects have been proposed around Tonopah, which is about halfway between Reno and Las Vegas. Those include Ioneer’s Rhyolite Ridge lithium mine, Schlumberger Technology’s Clayton Valley lithium project, and American Lithium’s Tonopah Lithium Claims project.
Silver Peak Expansion
Nevada’s existing lithium mine, Silver Peak, is about 30 miles southwest of Tonopah in the Clayton Valley.
The facility has been operating since the 1960s, when it was owned by the Foote Mineral Co.
After multiple changes in ownership, Albemarle, based in Charlotte, N.C., acquired the Silver Peak operations in 2015.
Silver Peak produces lithium from brine extracted from the Clayton Valley basin. Facilities at Silver Peak include extraction wells, evaporation and concentration ponds, a lithium carbonate plant, a lithium anhydrous plant, a lithium hydroxide plant and a liming plant.
In addition to the expansion of existing operations that Albemarle announced in January, the company said it plans to begin exploring clay resources in the region and evaluating technology for producing lithium from clay.
In another announcement, Albemarle said in June that it had opened a Battery Materials Innovation Center in North Carolina. The center will support the company’s lithium hydroxide, lithium carbonate and advanced energy storage materials platforms.
Rhyolite Ridge
Another lithium mining project in Nevada has been proposed by Ioneer, an Australian company. Ioneer’s Rhyolite Ridge lithium-boron project would be built about 15 miles west of Albemarle’s Silver Peak lithium mine.
According to a Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) fact sheet on the proposal, the project would include an open-pit lithium and boron mine, a storage facility for removed surface material, a processing plant, a spent-ore storage facility and a sulfuric acid plant. The proposed project would have a life of 12 years, including construction, operation, reclamation and closure.
NDEP has issued air quality and water-pollution control permits for Rhyolite Ridge. In an update last month, Ioneer said the project still needs approval from the Department of Interior for its operation plan.
After receiving all needed approvals, Ioneer expects construction to begin in the second half of 2022 and its first product shipment to occur in the second half of 2024.
The company announced in June an agreement with Korean cathode manufacturer EcoPro, which will buy up to 34% of Ioneer’s annual lithium carbonate output for the first three years of production.
The company said it is in discussion with other potential customers for its products. It also expects to announce a “significant funding agreement” in the third quarter of this year.
Clayton Valley Lithium Pilot
NDEP last month approved a reclamation permit for Schlumberger’s Clayton Valley lithium pilot plant project. According to an NDEP fact sheet, the project is a lithium brine extraction and chemical processing facility about three miles southeast of the town of Silver Peak.
Schlumberger plans to test a lithium recovery process that doesn’t require conventional evaporation ponds and hasn’t been used yet for commercial scale recovery of lithium from brine.
The new process has the potential to use less water and produce a finished lithium product faster than conventional brine extraction methods, Schlumberger said in a news release.
The Houston-based company has also applied to the state for a water pollution control permit for its Clayton Valley project. Comments on the proposal will be accepted through Aug. 22, according to an NDEP notice.
Tonopah Lithium Claims Project
In another proposed project in the Tonopah area, American Lithium has submitted an exploration plan of operations to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for the company’s Tonopah Lithium Claims project. The claystones project is about six miles northwest of Tonopah.
The Canadian company said in June that it was expecting approval of the plan within three months. The approval would allow the next phase of development, which includes up to 95 new drill sites to further characterize the lithium resource, up to five large test pits to provide samples for metallurgical testing, and biological and cultural surveys that can be used for future permitting work.
American Lithium is also exploring different methods of lithium extraction. Last week, the company announced that a hydrochloric acid leaching process produces an initial 95.1% lithium extraction. That compares to 92% extraction with sulfuric acid leaching and 82% extraction with salt roasting followed by water leaching.
Thacker Pass Lithium Project
In contrast to lithium-mining projects in the Tonopah area, the Thacker Pass project is in Humboldt County, Nev., about 25 miles from the Oregon border.
The proposed Thacker Pass lithium project would involve open-pit mining. Ore crushing, acid leaching and other processing methods would be used to produce lithium carbonate, according to NDEP.
NDEP is reviewing air pollution control, water pollution control and mine reclamation permits for the project. Proposed decisions on the permits may be issued as soon as this month, which would be followed by a 30-day public comment period.
Lithium Americas, whose subsidiary Lithium Nevada owns the project, describes Thacker Pass as one of the most advanced lithium projects under development in the U.S. The BLM approved the project in a record of decision dated Jan. 15.
But in February, four environmental groups — the Western Watersheds Project, Great Basin Resource Watch, Basin and Range Watch and Wildlands Defense — sued BLM in federal court over the approval. Among the groups’ allegations is that BLM failed to adequately analyze the projects’ direct, indirect and cumulative impacts.
The plaintiffs sought a preliminary injunction to prevent Lithium Nevada from digging at the site to conduct historical and cultural surveys. The groups are concerned that the surveys would remove sagebrush that serves as a habitat for sage grouse.
Chief Judge Miranda Du of the U.S. District Court for Nevada denied the motion for preliminary injunction on July 23, saying the plaintiffs “have not presented any specific, non-speculative evidence that they will be irreparably harmed in the absence of an injunction pending a ruling on the merits.”
In another twist in the case, Du on July 28 ruled that the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony and the People of Red Mountain may join the lawsuit. The groups fear the project would harm cultural resources.
Lithium Americas said it is expecting a final ruling in the case by January.
“Construction remains on target to begin in early 2022, following the receipt of remaining state permits and water right transfers, and resolution of the appeal,” the company said last week in reporting its second-quarter financial results.