Lithium Americas Corporation has confirmed the final investment decision (FID) for the first phase of its Thacker Pass lithium project in Humboldt County, Nevada.
The decision follows the closure of a $250m investment by Orion Resource Partners, finalising the equity requirements to support the project’s construction and development.
The investment from Orion Resource Partners comprises $195m in senior unsecured convertible notes and a $25m payment tied to future mineral production and gross revenue from the site.
An additional $30m in convertible notes has been committed through a delayed draw facility, contingent upon specified conditions being met.
These funds complete the equity financing needed to satisfy the requirements under a previously announced $2.26bn loan facility extended by the US Department of Energy (DOE).
General Motors and Lithium Americas, the joint venture (JV) partners for Thacker Pass, made the FID simultaneously with the funding closure. The former contributed $100m to the joint venture, while Lithium Americas provided $192m in cash.
The financial contributions align with the terms of the equity support required to unlock the full DOE loan under the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program.
Lithium Americas president and CEO Jonathan Evans said: “Today marks another important milestone in our journey to bring Thacker Pass to production.
“With our JV Partner, GM, we announced FID for Phase 1 alongside our other exceptional partners – the US DOE and Orion. Together, we will develop a US-produced lithium supply chain to reduce American dependence on foreign suppliers for critical minerals.”
Lithium Americas has now secured full project-level and corporate-level funding for Phase 1 construction activities at Thacker Pass. The company is targeting completion of the first phase by late 2027.
Thacker Pass began initial construction in March 2023 following receipt of a Record of Decision from the US Bureau of Land Management in January 2021. The site, located at the southern edge of the McDermitt Caldera, lies approximately 96.6km northwest of Winnemucca in northern Nevada.
The project is expected to be developed over five phases, each contributing 40,000 tonnes per year of battery-grade lithium carbonate capacity.
At full scale, Thacker Pass is anticipated to achieve a nominal production rate of 160,000 tonnes per year. The total projected mine life is 85 years.
General Motors has secured an offtake agreement for all production from Phase 1 for a 20-year period. The agreement also includes 38% of Phase 2 production volumes over the same duration, along with a right of first offer on the remainder of Phase 2 output.
