The U.S. government is taking a 5% stake in Lithium Americas, a Vancouver, B.C.-based mining company, and a 5% stake in the company’s Nevada mining project, the Energy Department said Tuesday evening, restructuring a $2.26 billion U.S. government loan agreement from 2024.
With its stake, the government aims to boost the U.S. supply chain for lithium, an important industrial material used in electric-vehicle batteries, smartphones and renewable energy storage. The U.S. is seeking to reduce reliance on overseas suppliers. The equity stake was needed to help make the mine project viable after a drop in the price of lithium, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said earlier on Bloomberg Television.
“It’s in America’s best interest to get that mine built,” Wright said, adding that production of Thacker Pass, one of the largest known lithium deposits in the U.S., could help lessen China’s grip on the lithium market.
Lithium Americas has been in negotiations with the Energy Department and automaker General Motors—its partner in the Thacker Pass Nevada lithium mine—over the terms of the $2.26 billion loan.
The Energy Department said the revised deal includes more than $100 million of new equity. The changes protected taxpayers, it said.
“Lithium Americas needs to raise some more capital so the mine is financially sound,” Wright said. “We’re leaning in with a large amount of debt capital, so it’s just a more commercial transaction.”
The deal will help finance the construction of manufacturing facilities at Thacker Pass, the Energy Department said, which are eventually expected to produce 40,000 tonnes a year of lithium carbonate for lithium-ion batteries.
U.S.-traded shares of Lithium Americas jumped more than 34% in after-hours trading.
Lithium Americas declined to comment Tuesday. GM didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The loan agreement for Lithium Americas originated under the Biden administration as it sought to support the U.S. electric-vehicle market. The Trump administration has also been reviewing loans for other Biden-era clean-energy projects.
A Lithium Americas stake would be the latest example of the Trump administration’s involvement in industry. Washington made a deal for a “golden share” in U.S. Steel that gives the U.S. government authority over the steelmaker as a condition of Japanese rival Nippon Steel’s takeover. It struck an agreement with Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices for a portion of sales of artificial-intelligence chips to China.
And the Pentagon agreed to take a 15% stake in rare-earths miner MP Materials, saying it would spend billions of dollars investing in the Las Vegas-based company and purchasing its output.
