The energy transition is sparking America’s next mining boom
Can critical minerals be secured without wrecking the environment and sacred tribal lands?
ABOUT 16M YEARS ago, a supervolcano that straddled the borders of what is now Oregon and Nevada erupted, forming the McDermitt Caldera. The volcanic activity pushed lithium-rich rock up near the Earth’s surface, creating the largest known lithium deposit in the United States. Today, the same terrain around the Montana Mountains is carpeted with sagebrush, and coyotes are heard more often than people. But that may soon change. Lithium Americas, a Canadian company, has plans to build a mine and processing plant at Thacker Pass, near the southern tip of the caldera in Nevada. It would be America’s biggest lithium mine.
This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Between a rock and a hard place”
United States February 19th 2022
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From the February 19th 2022 edition
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