Vancouver lithium miner Lithium Americas Corp. (TSX,NYSE:LAC) has landed US$250 million in investment from Orion Resource Partners LP to advance its Thacker Pass lithium project in Nevada.
Thacker Pass is a lithium clay deposit in northwest Nevada that would be mined as an open pit mine. The company plans to develop the mine in two phases, with phase 1 mining expected to produce 40,000 tonnes annually of battery quality lithium carbonate. Production would double to 80,000 tonnes under a phase 2 expansion.
“Thacker Pass is a world-class project, and we are committed to providing investment solutions for metals and materials critical to sustainable economic growth and the energy transition,” Orion managing partner Istvan Zollei said in a press release.
Thursday's funding announcement is in the form of US$195 million in senior unsecured convertible notes, and a US$25 million production payment agreement. Orion has also committed to purchase an additional US$30 million in senior unsecured convertible notes, upon certain conditions being met.
The financing will be used to for phase 1 development and construction of the Thacker Pass mine, which Lithium Americas is aiming to complete by late 2027.
The Thacker Pass project is being developed as a joint venture project with General Motors, which took a 38 per cent stake in the project for US$625 million last year. It has federal government backing in the form of US$2.26 billion loan from the Department of Energy (DOE).
Orion’s investment means the project is now fully funded, the company said. Orion also has a non-binding agreement with Lithium Americas to provide up to US$500 million of financing for Thacker Pass Phase 2.
“Orion’s commitment to this project highlights the strategic importance of Thacker Pass to national security and developing a domestic supply chain, as we work to reduce American dependence on foreign suppliers for critical minerals,” Lithium Americas CEO Jonathan Evans said in a press release.
